TORONTO — It was the kind of breakthrough Justin Holl always believed he had in him. But even in the early stages of this Toronto Maple Leafs season there was very little to suggest he was about to become such an important figure in the organization.
Consider where the defenceman stood at training camp as a 27-year-old with 13 career NHL games on his resume.
Oh, and 71 healthy scratches the season prior.
Holl was just battling to stay off waivers in September, with the Leafs having brought in a number of depth options over the summer who had more big-league experience than he did: Ben Harpur, Kevin Gravel and Jordan Schmaltz, among them.
Even after making the opening night roster, he watched the first game from the press box. Holl played nine minutes two nights later in Columbus and was immediately scratched again.
Who could have predicted then he was about to take a spot on the team’s shutdown pairing and run with it? Did Holl even believe it possible himself?
“I didn’t have any doubt that I could play at this level, but you know there’s always uncertainty of whether you will. You know what I mean?” he said Tuesday. “There’s a difference between knowing that you can and knowing that you’re going to do it or that you will do it or that you’ll get the chance.
“I think in that sense there was some doubt.”
As we reflect on his 2019-20 season — which may or may not be over, depending on the coronavirus pandemic — it’s clear that Holl is worthy of serious consideration for the Bill Masterton Trophy.
That award recognizes the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, and what better sums up his story than that?
There were times in 2018-19 where he felt like he was “grinding away for nothing” while going months between playing. He had become a dominant AHL defenceman but was only one rung above a practice player with the Leafs, squeezing just 11 games and 137 total minutes of ice time from a campaign where he was completely healthy.
A couple things broke his way this season. The Leafs dealt with more injuries, for starters, which helped get him in the lineup. The November coaching change from Mike Babcock to Sheldon Keefe didn’t hurt, either, since it reunited him with a man who had leaned heavily on him during their time with the Marlies.
“I was able to get my foot in the door a little bit as the season went on and started accumulating more responsibilities,” said Holl.
From early December onwards, he thrived while being tasked with facing the opposition’s best players. He and Jake Muzzin formed the Leafs’ most reliable pairing — generating 58 per cent of expected goals and 55 per cent of even-strength shot attempts together while often starting shifts against dangerous attackers in their own end.
Holl logged more minutes than half the defencemen in the NHL — averaging 18:31 in his 68 appearances — and was rewarded with a $6-million, three-year extension hours before facing his hometown Minnesota Wild on New Year’s Eve.
“It just is a credit to his personality and his positivity and his passion for life and for the game and the type of teammate that he is that he just continued to work and made it easy to keep him around,” Keefe said that day.
Kyle Dubas pointed to Holl as one of the silver linings from an up-and-down Leafs season that saw Muzzin, Morgan Rielly, Cody Ceci and Travis Dermott all miss time to injury on the blue line.
“It was unfortunate in one regard in that we never got to see the group really all together,” Dubas said Monday, after signing KHL free agent Mikko Lehtonen. “On the positive side, it allowed for a player like Justin Holl to really flourish and get more opportunity. That presented us with more certainty on one end of it.”
Given the renaissance his career’s gone through, it’s understandable why Holl is anxiously awaiting the chance to finish off his impressive season. He’s been waiting out COVID-19 back home in Minnesota and closely following updates provided by Dubas and the NHL Players’ Association.
The 28-year-old plans to drive back to Toronto as soon as there’s a concrete plan in place for when team facilities will reopen. He’ll then observe the government-mandated 14-day period of self-isolation before getting back on the ice.
“It seems like other sports are starting to kind of open up and set dates for a return so I hope that means we won’t be far behind,” said Holl. “In that sense, I’m optimistic and I’m ready to go at a moment’s notice.”
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
