Sheldon Keefe Post Game: Canadiens 5 vs. Leafs 2
What teachable moments can you find after a game like that?
Keefe: Well, we’ll talk a look at the video, but it’s the first game. It’s the first game coming out of the summer. You expect a lot of mistakes. There were certainly a lot today. We’ll focus on the positive things that we can find. In terms of teachable moments, I think it’s obviously about the individuals here. We’ll try to clean some things up and be better as a group on Sunday. We’re just going to focus on the individuals and look closely at the video and things that we can show them. It’s the first game; we’re not going to put too much stock into.
How are your injured guys?
Keefe: I don’t have any reports as far as where they are going to be at after today. Middleton had an upper-body injury there and didn’t finish the game. Rasanen had a lower-body. I don’t know what’s going to happen with them. We had some guys who didn’t play obviously; Dermott was ill and we’ll see how he is. Brooks didn’t play today; he had mono this summer and he’s just recovered through that. He’s back on the ice. He won’t play Sunday, either. We’re just more giving him time to train and skate and get him ready for next weekend.
What did you see from Liljegren tonight? Was it a matter of a little bit of rust?
Keefe: I thought the bright spot for him was that power play we had in the third period. It was a real opportunity to showcase. We saw some really special things there. It was a pretty sloppy, unorganized game by us, and that doesn’t play into his kind of game. I think he’ll probably be a little frustrated with that. But that power play and some of the other plays he made during the game showed some real positive things. I think, as the talent gets better and more organized and things like that, it will fit him a little bit more.
His body language was frustrated after the one giveaway. Do you try to give him some positive reinforcement just to get his mind back to where it needs to be?
Keefe: I think it was an easy one for him to be hard on himself about, but that’s another one I’m talking about… I just watched it back there and we had no structure. He’s got no support. Nobody is in the right spots they’re supposed to be to have more than one option to go to. When there is more structure in place and people are in the right spots, he’s going to find those options.
Is that the result of throwing all these kids together within 24-48 hours to come up with something?
Keefe: I think so. There are a lot of kids here coming out of junior hockey from all different programs. You throw all of those factors in and it’s going to lead to those types of mistakes. We tried to get as organized as we could be. There were some good things for us. I thought we took the game over in the second period in the second half there and put ourselves in the position going into the third, but we just didn’t take care of it.
With Timothy coming in as a first round pick, can there be a tendency in your debut to sort of want to try to do too much and live up to the expectations?
Keefe: I think every guy here, regardless of where they’re drafted, wants to do well. I don’t see any issues with him trying to do too much. The one mistake ends up in our net, but it was more about the four guys around him than the guy who made the play. The options weren’t there for him that there should’ve been. I’m not going to overthink anything. I wouldn’t expect him to.
Pospisil impressed in camp. What did you think of him tonight?
Keefe: I didn’t see him as much tonight. He had a couple of nice plays; you saw him cut to the middle the one time in the third period and got an opportunity there. Things are one step quicker here. Obviously, guys are a little more competitive here than they would’ve been in a development camp setting. That’s not just him. All guys have to rise to the level. It’s also day 1 here in early September. Guys are getting the rust off. Some guys get it sooner than others. We expect that we’ll be a lot better as a group on Sunday, as Ottawa will be better. We’re expecting a better effort from everybody.
Game in Six Highlights
2017 Toronto Maple Leafs Rookie Tournament Lines vs. Montreal
Forwards
Grundstrom – Winquist – Bracco
Marchment – Dupuy – Korostelev
Dzierkals – Bobylev – Pospisil
Piccinich – McGregor – Coskey
Defencemen
Nielsen – Rasanen
Middleton – Liljegren
Duquette – Mattinen
Goalies
Kaskisuo
Scott
Toronto Maple Leafs 2017 Rookie Tournament Schedule
| Date | Time | Event | Team(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, September 8 | 7 p.m. | Game 1 | Montreal 5 vs. Toronto 2 |
| Saturday, September 9 | 7 p.m. | Game 2 | Ottawa 8 vs. Montreal 2 |
| Sunday, September 10 | 4 p.m. | Game 3 | Ottawa 4 vs. Toronto 3 (SO) |
Toronto Maple Leafs 2017 Rookie Tournament Roster
| NAME | POS. | 2016-17 CLUB(S) | ACQUIRED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bobylev, Vladimir | F | Moscow (KHL) / Victoria (WHL) | 2016 Draft (122 nd overall) |
| Bracco, Jeremy | F | Kitchener (OHL) / Windsor (OHL) | 2015 Draft (61 st overall) |
| Brooks, Adam | F | Regina (WHL) | 2016 Draft (92 nd overall) |
| Coskey, Cole | F | Saginaw (OHL) | Free Agent Invite |
| Dermott, Travis | D | Toronto (AHL) | 2015 Draft (34th overall) |
| Duquette, Marc-Olivier | D | Drummondville (QMJHL) | Free Agent Invite |
| Dupuy, Jean | F | Rochester (AHL) | Signed to AHL Contract |
| Dzierkals, Martins | F | Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL) | 2015 Draft (68 th overall) |
| Gordeev, Fedor | D | Flint (OHL) / Hamilton (OHL) | 2017 Draft (141st Overall) |
| Grundstrom, Carl | F | Toronto (AHL) / Frolunda (SHL) | 2016 Draft (57th Overall) |
| Kaskisuo, Kasimir | G | Toronto (AHL) / Orlando (ECHL) | Signed to NHL Contract |
| Korostelev, Nikita | F | Peterborough (OHL) / Sarnia (OHL) | 2015 Draft (185th overall) |
| Liljegren, Timothy | D | Rogel BK (SHL) | 2017 Draft (17th overall) |
| Lindberg, Tobias | F | Toronto (AHL) | Trade with OTT (2/9/16) |
| Marchment, Mason | F | Toronto (AHL) / Orlando (ECHL) | Signed to AHL Contract |
| Mattinen, Nicolas | D | London (OHL) | 2016 Draft (179th overall) |
| McGregor, Ryan | F | Sarnia (OHL) | 2017 Draft (172nd overall) |
| Middleton, Keaton | D | Saginaw (OHL) | 2016 Draft (101st overall) |
| Moore, Trevor | F | Toronto (AHL) | Signed to NHL contract |
| Nielsen, Andrew | D | Toronto (AHL) | 2015 Draft (65th overall) |
| Piccinich, J.J. | F | London (OHL) | 2014 Draft (103 rd overall) |
| Pospisil, Kristian | F | Sioux City (USHL) | Signed to AHL Contract |
| Rasanen, Eemeli | D | Kingston (OHL) | 2017 Draft (59 th overall) |
| Scott, Ian | G | Prince Albert (WHL) | 2017 Draft (110 th overall) |
| Smart, Jonathan | D | Kelowna (WHL) / Regina (WHL) | Free Agent Invite |
| Timashov, Dmytro | F | Toronto (AHL) | 2015 Draft (125th overall) |
