Marlies Talk 15/16 - Is Sheldon worth Keefe'n around?

[Deebo]

Andreas Johnson is making his AHL debut in the game.

Albany leads 1-0 after the 1st period.

Johnson and Nylander appear to be working well together.

 

[L K]

Keefe playing Nylander on the 2nd PP unit and the Arcobello group gives up two shorthanded goals including a game tying goal with 20 seconds left.

 

[herman]

Keefe playing Nylander on the 2nd PP unit and the Arcobello group gives up two shorthanded goals including a game tying goal with 20 seconds left.

0-10 on the PP, giving up those 2 SHGs. All of Albany's goals coming on some form of special teams.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Keefe playing Nylander on the 2nd PP unit and the Arcobello group gives up two shorthanded goals including a game tying goal with 20 seconds left.

0-10 on the PP, giving up those 2 SHGs. All of Albany's goals coming on some form of special teams.

0 for 8, not 10.

 

[herman]

Keefe playing Nylander on the 2nd PP unit and the Arcobello group gives up two shorthanded goals including a game tying goal with 20 seconds left.

0-10 on the PP, giving up those 2 SHGs. All of Albany's goals coming on some form of special teams.

0 for 8, not 10.

Thanks! That's what I thought at first. I went to check the AHL site and counted them up, but neglected to account for the coincidentals.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Andreas Johnson is making his AHL debut in the game.

Albany leads 1-0 after the 1st period.

Pretty surprised that they threw him into the line-up. That seems to bode pretty well for his future.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Andreas Johnson is making his AHL debut in the game.

Albany leads 1-0 after the 1st period.

Pretty surprised that they threw him into the line-up. That seems to bode pretty well for his future.

I thought he looked pretty good too, especially for his first NA game to be a playoff game against a tough opponent.  His skill was evident.

 

[L K]

Andreas Johnson is making his AHL debut in the game.

Albany leads 1-0 after the 1st period.

Pretty surprised that they threw him into the line-up. That seems to bode pretty well for his future.

I thought he looked pretty good too, especially for his first NA game to be a playoff game against a tough opponent.  His skill was evident.

Yeah, I would have liked to have seen him used with the PP struggling the way it was to try and get some more shots.  I think we saw snippets of how quick he can get his shot up high.

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

Keefe having Arco's unit as the 1st PP unit instead of Nylander was perplexing and the fact that he kept at it for at least 6 of the 8 PP's too, come on Shelly!!!

 

[Highlander]

He may be smoking to much Keefe!

 

[CarltonTheBear]

There's a report out there saying Arcobello has signed a 2-year deal with SC Bern in Switzerland. Not surprising of course, but this means that the Marlies are 2/3's of the way toward losing their 3 best players (Arcobello to Europe, Nylander to the Leafs, and Brennan's a UFA so TBD).

 

[herman]

There's a report out there saying Arcobello has signed a 2-year deal with SC Bern in Switzerland. Not surprising of course, but this means that the Marlies are 2/3's of the way toward losing their 3 best players (Arcobello to Europe, Nylander to the Leafs, and Brennan's a UFA so TBD).

Travis Dermott is eligible to play for the Marlies next season, as are Timashov, Dzierkals, and Desrocher.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Presumably Andreas Johnson will start there too.  Probably Kapanen will still be there too.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Travis Dermott is eligible to play for the Marlies next season, as are Timashov, Dzierkals, and Desrocher.

Sure, but those are more like Hyman/Soshnikov/Percy replacements. They're not on Nylander/Arcobello/Brennan's level and I don't really think any of the returning players will be able to step into those roles either without it being a downgrade.

Anyway, it's not a big deal or anything, it's just that I wouldn't expect the Marlies to repeat the kind of season that they did in terms of wins. Unless they bring in a couple of older AHLer stars again.

 

[herman]

http://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/toronto-marlies/2016/5/31/11811430/kyle-dubas-and-the-reinvention-of-the-toronto-marlies

Dubas wanted to build a team where youth and skill were central, but they were going to need the right people to insulate them.

"I'm very grateful for the opportunity," Clune said in his year-end locker clean-out interview. "We went from there and it couldn't have gone any better."

For the veterans like Clune, it was important that the Marlies developed them too. Dubas doesn't want to put an expiration date on development, despite knowing that production can trail off after age 25.

"I?m certain that the org from top down views the Marlies as a place where we?re going to develop players," the young Marlies general manager said. "But at the same time I think we had some older players that said to us that this is the most they?ve ever developed in a year of hockey."

Dubas knew that the Marlies could both succeed and develop their youth with the right people around them, according to Clune.

"I have the utmost respect for Kyle Dubas," Clune said. "I think before all the hockey stuff, and he obviously has an extremely high understanding of the game and putting together a team that has what it takes to win, I think he?s a good person, a good man, a family man. He?s been almost a bit of a mentor for me this year."

Above all else, Dubas says that he cares about the individuals.

"The management and coaches are excited to come in, you develop personal communication with the players, you get to know them and know that you care about them ? which you genuinely do," he said. "When they know that every day you?re trying to maximize their abilities as hockey players I think they see that you mean it and it?s easy to be enthusiastic."

"I have nothing but a lot of respect for that guy. It has been a very positive experience working for him," Clune added. "From the day-to-day stuff I have never seen a guy who cares so much about his players -- and I really mean that."

The end result is a team that both dominated while also forming special, productive relationships.

[...]

Dubas and Keefe met with each player individually on Monday to discuss their status with the organization and give mutual feedback. It was important for Dubas to get a sense of where the players are with their thoughts on the team, and look back at some of the positives that might be forgotten in the aftermath of a tough playoff exit.

[...]

"We want our guys to learn as much as they can here and then let Mike Babcock decide where they?re going to fit in his lineup," Dubas said.

Keefe and the player development staff have been tasked with using all of the resources at their disposal to build an individual yearlong program for each player. They work on everything from adjusting a player's shot or stride to the skates and sticks they use.

"We believe here that a big part of the development is to continue to develop their skills," Keefe said. "We had some of the older players come in here today and talk about the fact that they feel as though even though they?ve played a long time in professional hockey that they?re still getting better and gaining confidence in their ability to improve through the skill development and the attention to detail, not just through a team structure but really honing in on what they need to do to get better as individuals."

The attention to the individual will continue to be a priority for Marlies. For Keefe, it was his first year working with so many resources. The Marlies work with players not only on the skills necessary to play in the NHL but also on the tools required to fit into Mike Babcock's team.

"The player development staff here is top-notch and did a wonderful job of blending in with our staff to make the players better both inside of our system and just fundamental skills that players can refine and improve," Keefe said. "We had some discussions with players today about what they liked about it. It?s a work in progress."

Dubas challenged them to set their sights high.

"Don?t put yourself in that box to think that that?s all you're going to be. Allow yourself to dream that you can do anything that you want because you?ve already shown what you can do here," he said.

This article is long!

Even from the outside looking in, the Marlies had a formula worth emulating.

"I wasn?t really familiar with the Marlies but I mean they were an absolute powerhouse this year," Connor Carrick said. "I?m very fortunate to be a part of something that should be something special."

And they're built for continuity. Every AHL franchise tries to play like its NHL affiliate but the Marlies are succeeding. Connor Carrick, who didn't join the Marlies until the Leafs season finished, saw it first-hand. And he wasn't alone.

"I think they were very in sync and that?s always a plus when you?re with an AHL club. You want to be working towards the NHL always," he said. "Just how things are run, the more similar things are the easier the mesh is. A lot of players benefited from that and a lot of guys that played in the NHL had success and I think it?s due to that process."

 

[herman]

Travis Dermott is eligible to play for the Marlies next season, as are Timashov, Dzierkals, and Desrocher.

Sure, but those are more like Hyman/Soshnikov/Percy replacements. They're not on Nylander/Arcobello/Brennan's level and I don't really think any of the returning players will be able to step into those roles either without it being a downgrade.

Anyway, it's not a big deal or anything, it's just that I wouldn't expect the Marlies to repeat the kind of season that they did in terms of wins. Unless they bring in a couple of older AHLer stars again.

Yes, I agree. I wasn't suggesting that they'd be able to drop in and replace Arcobello/Brennan/Nylander, but your post prompted me to dig up who would be injected into the system next season. It should still be very exciting.

 

[LuncheonMeat]

Another potential addition to the D next year, Nikolas Brouillard, was signed by the Marlies:

Nikolas Brouillard shared ice time with two Maple Leafs prospects this past QMJHL season. He began the year with Dmytro Timashov and the Quebec Remparts, and at the trade deadline was moved to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, joining Martins Dzierkals.

In the Q this year the left handed defenseman had 17 goals, 42 assists for 59 points in 54 games. He scored 1 goal and one point with the Huskies in the Memorial Cup tournament.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

I believe he was draft eligible for the 2013 NHL Draft where he had 57 points in 68 games that season.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I believe he was draft eligible for the 2013 NHL Draft where he had 57 points in 68 games that season.

He was at the Leafs rookie camp and training camp last year too. Believe the reports were that he looked pretty good but was injured at some point so he couldn't continue.