Mitch Marner entered the Fairmont Royal York on Sunday night with a pillow under his arm.
“Usually all the beds are pretty comfortable,” the winger explained, “you never know what you’re going to get with a pillow. We’re just down the street so it really wasn’t that hard to bring. I like having my own pillow.”
Perhaps that pillow is one reason why Marner always seems to have an endless source of energy. He was certainly flying in training camp as he seeks to write a storybook ending to a season that started a bit slow.
Marner’s contract negotiation with the Leafs spilled into training camp in September and the rich new deal he ultimately signed – six years with a cap hit of $10.893-million – raised expectations on the heels of his incredible 94-point campaign.
General manager Kyle Dubas points out that Marner’s regular season was “derailed by the ankle sprain” sustained on Nov. 9. The Leafs struggled in his absence and a couple weeks later Mike Babcock was fired and replaced with Sheldon Keefe.
It wasn’t quite as explosive as last season, but Marner still finished with 67 points in 59 games.
“I thought despite [everything] Mitch had an excellent year,” Dubas said.
And now Marner appears poised for a big playoffs. He helped lead the way in the Phase 2 voluntary skates and looked dynamic in Phase 3 training camp.
“What I’ve seen from Mitch has been, especially in the last number of months since the lockdown started, just a great ability for him to continue to take more and more ownership of his career,” Dubas observed. “He’s always got that gregarious and infectious way about him and brings great energy to the rink and now you’re starting to see that go from a boyish sort of energy and enthusiasm to really mature.”
On the opening night of the regular season, Marner was named an alternate captain and spoke about wanting to be more of a leader in his fourth NHL season. On Monday, he was named the Leafs nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which honours leadership qualities on and off the ice.
“He’s still the same in terms of the spirit and energy he brings to the rink every day,” Dubas said, “but now you’re seeing … a greater sense of urgency and realizing this is a very good team and if we’re going to go from being very good to great he’s going to have to be one of the drivers of it. He’s been excellent, especially in this last stretch.”
Marner’s energy seems more focused these days. And, pillow aside, he’s ready to embrace all the newness that comes with bubble life.
“It’s obviously a little weird, but we’re just trying to get quickly used to being uncomfortable,” Marner said. “I think that’s kind of the key here for us is just kind of being comfortable with the uncomfortable … We’re really hungry to start this thing up. We’re hungry to prove ourselves out here. We want to make sure we’re ready to go and it starts tomorrow against Montreal.”
Young, Scrappy & Hungry: With a lot to prove, matured Leafs Auston Matthews & Mitch Marner are eager to prove themselves and eliminate the questions surrounding the team…
“I don’t think that anyone questions the talent of the group,” Dubas said.
But there are questions about whether this highly-skilled group can play strong defensive hockey for a sustained period. They’ve allowed 69 goals against in 20 games over the last three playoff series (3.45 goals per game) which, unsurprisingly, has led to three straight early exits.
“We have a lot to prove,” Dubas said. “The players know the doubts that are on them whether it’s from media or other teams and so they know what they have to prove and I think them acknowledging it and talking about it is a good sign … they know we have to prove it and that’s what we’ll get to here in the coming weeks and years.”
The Leafs allowed 3.17 goals per game this season, which was 26th in the NHL. Under Keefe, that number improved to 3.04, which was 17th in the NHL in that stretch and still not good enough. It led Dubas to label the team as “Jekyll and Hyde” at the trade deadline.
Keefe has introduced some system and structural tweaks over the last couple of weeks. He’s demanding that forwards do a better job helping out the defence. Defenceman, meanwhile, are vowing to do a better job of stopping the cycle. And the team, as a whole, is determined to break the puck out more efficiently as a five-man unit.
They know what has to be done, but can they do it?
“The root cause of [the inconsistent defence] is just our mindset … and not a skill thing and not a personnel thing. We’ve shown in various different games and different stretches that we can be a very good defensive team. We need to be there consistently and … in the top 10 of the league to really maximize our whole group.”
We’re two days into Sheldon Keefe’s first training camp as an NHL head coach and the main focus is obvious, defence…
With a packed schedule of games starting this week, Dubas is eager to get an up-close look at some potential future Leafs.
“You got 12 NHL teams playing for very high stakes and it’s happening essentially 200 steps from where you’re living for the next number of months so if we don’t have a practice or a set team function, I think most of us will be there watching,” Dubas said. “The long-term is [how] I’m spending a lot of my downtime, thinking about where our team will be going and looking at various free agents that might be available that are here and playing … This is just an awesome opportunity. You’re in the same hotel or same area or same facilities as these other teams and you can learn a lot about the teams and their players just watching and observing them off the ice and on.”
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Nick Robertson once again skated on the third line at Monday’s practice as the left winger prepares for his NHL exhibition debut on Tuesday night against the Canadiens.
“He’s playing the game tomorrow and possibly the game on Sunday,” Marner said. “The whole camp he’s been great. He’s done a lot of great things to show management that he can play in this league and play in this kind of tournament. For us, as teammates, we want people on that ice who are competitive and want to win games and throughout this training camp he’s really shown that he’s got both things in him and hopefully he brings a kick to our team and a boost with his energy.”
Keefe will be watching closely to see if the 18-year-old can hold his own against NHL players. But it won’t just be a new experience for Robertson, all the players will be dealing with the lack of fans and a different environment.
“I’m certainly expecting it to be not your typical exhibition game considering what’s at stake and what’s around the corner and the only dress rehearsal you’re going to get to prepare for the real thing,” Keefe said. “Certainly with our team, we’re expecting them to have a much higher level of intensity and competitiveness and all those things. Of course, the ultimate goal is to come out of it healthy and have everybody ready to play Game 1 against Columbus.”
Keefe confirmed the Leafs will be on the visiting bench for the game Tuesday night, which will be a new vantage point for the group and prepare them for what they’ll see in Game 3 and, if necessary, Game 4 against the Blue Jackets.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
