‘An important presence’: Veteran Bobrovsky’s affect already felt at Maple Leafs camp

TORONTO — Amid the flurry of low season strikes that swept over the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer season — the front-office overhaul, the brand new chief manning the bench, the arrival of a teenage wunderkind in Gavin McKenna — the membership’s early splash within the cage has all however gotten misplaced within the shuffle.

Even because the Maple Leafs have taken the ice at their apply facility in Etobicoke, Ont., over the previous week, the presence of their new veteran in web — he of two Stanley Cups and two Vezina trophies — has been trigger for a double-take or two as the brand new season grinds into gear.

But make no mistake, there may need been no extra essential choice made by John Chayka and Co. this low season than that of bringing in Sergei Bobrovsky to take over beginning duties within the blue-and-white web. And with the brand new season every week away, the previous Florida standout has already made his presence identified in Toronto.

“It’s really hard to describe,” head coach Jim Hiller stated of the netminder’s aura, after the membership wrapped up apply Tuesday. “You’ve watched totally different athletes, you’ve seen them on the pinnacle of their sport, and so they’re successful championships — he simply suits that invoice. Beyond taking part in in addition to he has and having the profession he’s had, he’s a champion. He’s such a humble man, and so devoted to being an expert athlete. 

“He’s just got a great presence to him. But mark my words, he’s a fierce competitor. He’s a gentleman, and he treats you with respect, but inside, this guy’s doing everything he can to win.”

The hope is that this side of the 38-year-old’s presence, particularly, rubs off on a franchise determined to rekindle its Cup goals. Every week into the experiment, the squad’s coach says others within the locker room are little question paying attention to Bobrovsky’s laser focus.

“You know, when he speaks, you listen,” Hiller stated. “And he is soft-spoken, you have to lean in a little bit bit. And it is coming from the very best place. So, I’d suppose it is had a constructive impact already. It’s arduous to measure it, proper? Let’s see because the season goes on. But I’ve talked to totally different gamers, and so they’re identical to, ‘I really like this man.’ 

For Bobrovsky himself, the transfer north after seven years in Florida, a near-decade run that netted a pair of Stanley Cup rings, brings with it a slew of adjustments, of wanted changes.

“It’s everything, you know?” he stated Tuesday. “You’ve got to get into the rhythm, get to know the guys, put your energy into the group, just fit yourself into the group and try to be productive.”

There’s the matter of getting settled away from the rink, too — the goaltender spent everything of his thirty eighth birthday this previous Sunday unpacking. He’s wanting ahead to his household seeing snow once more after a near-decade down south.

As for his sport, the veteran seemed strong in his pre-season debut for his new membership, taking part in half of Toronto’s tilt towards Montreal on Saturday and turning apart 10 of 11 pictures within the exhibition debut. Now comes one other probability to seek out his rhythm Wednesday, when the Maple Leafs meet Ottawa in one other pair of split-squad pre-season video games.

“I feel good. We had good work, everybody worked hard. It’s a fun atmosphere,” Bobrovsky stated of Tuesday’s on-ice session. “We’re just building. Tomorrow is a game, exhibition game — we adjust again, we work on our system. We’re getting together.”

Even every week into his tenure, the veteran’s off-ice focus has change into a speaking level among the many remainder of the Maple Leafs, his teammates brandishing extensive grins once they talk about his strategies.

“He’s been around long enough that he came in and our guys had some expectations of what he was like — in the gym, in terms of how he prepares,” Morgan Rielly stated of the goalie Monday. “He’s met all those expectations. He’s just extremely dialled.”

“The way he prepares, the way he comes in every day, the way that he works in practice — he’s the hardest worker out there,” fellow newcomer Darren Raddysh added Tuesday. “He’s been doing that his whole career. It’s pretty cool to see it in person.”

The much-discussed off-ice routine evolves 12 months to 12 months, Bobrovsky stated Tuesday, adjusting to satisfy the calls for of his distinctive place within the squad.

“It’s always changing. There’s nothing steady — there are some tools that I need for my preparation, but I’m always open to new things,” he defined. “It’s a lot of little issues. … Hockey is a mixture of all the pieces. You have to trace the puck, you must have good agility, flexibility, power. You know, it’s so many issues to cowl. You can’t cowl all of them — you must select some, select what works for you, take what helps and throw away what doesn’t. 

“I like cardio lots, I like weight lifting, I like stretching, I do gymnastics in the summertime. I do a lot of issues. From every kind of sports activities, you possibly can take a lot of issues.”

All in pursuit of 1 easy objective, one singular focus.

“The biggest thing for me is stopping the puck,” Bobrovsky stated matter-of-factly Tuesday, requested about how he hopes to guide this staff this season. “I will try to do my best to give the guys a chance to win every night — that’s my main focus.”

How veterans Paul, Sissons can affect younger Cowan’s progress

While a lot of the main target of camp so far has been on the arrival of younger Gavin McKenna, who figures to be a pivotal determine for the membership as quickly as this season, the brand new marketing campaign might be an important one for one more franchise pillar of the longer term: Easton Cowan.

Fresh off a championship run with the AHL Marlies, the 21-year-old has been skating on a line with veterans Nick Paul and Colton Sissons at camp. Hiller envisions the 2 vets bringing a lot that may assist Cowan take a step in 2026-27.

“You know what, even in the practice today, those two are really good forecheckers,” the coach stated Tuesday of the veterans, each acquired this summer season. “We would really love for Easton to develop into that type of player, too. I think he’s on his path. He is definitely a little more of a skilled player. But those guys loosen up pucks, they give him opportunities to be there second, to jam it up the wall, for him to come off the wall and find the D.”

Beyond their sport on the ice, the pair’s expertise — Paul and Sissons have greater than 1,200 big-league video games between them — might be essential, too.

“I think it’s good to have those type of players around. And I also believe in just the real veteran presence of those two guys,” Hiller stated. “Everybody says, ‘I’ve acquired to play proper’ and it may be a cliche, however once you play with two veteran gamers who do it proper, it is arduous to not do it your self. 

“The coach can say it all day long, but if those two guys are saying, ‘This is how we go,’ I think that matters more.”

Hiller stated he expects Paul and Sissons to alternate by way of who performs centre and who mans the wing reverse Cowan, with each veterans bringing some positional versatility to the lineup.

“That’s really what I like about what John (Chayka) did this summer — he gave us some real options,” the coach stated. “You know, Nick can play left wing somewhere else, Sissons can run in the middle, we can put Sissons up in the top six, or Nick — we can do a lot of different things, having the flexibility with those guys down the middle.”

Nylander shaken up after taking shot to arm

The membership acquired a momentary scare 5 minutes into Tuesday’s apply, when an early drill noticed a shot from defenceman Jake McCabe hit William Nylander within the arm. 

The winger in discomfort for a spell, however continued with the skate. He was seen sporting an ice pack on his proper arm after the session wrapped up Tuesday, however appeared no worse for put on by the point he took to the microphone in entrance of the reporters attending apply.

“It’s a little sore right now, I’m not going to lie — but he did apologize,” the winger stated with a chuckle. “It’s okay.”

The 30-year-old earned loads of reward from his head coach after Tuesday’s session, following a pair of practices which have seen Nylander ramp up his affect on each ends of the sheet.

“I’ve always really liked Willy. You know, when I first took over as head coach in the NHL, the first player or ex-player I heard from was Willy,” Hiller stated Tuesday. “I hadn’t talked to him in years. It actually meant one thing to me. So, I feel we’ve a very good relationship that manner. We spent plenty of time collectively earlier than, and I sit up for serving to him out right here. 

“He wants to be so good, I know that. He trains, he does all that stuff, and some of the things we’ve seen out here in practice the last couple days have been really impressive. We ended the last practice on just an incredible backcheck by Willy, a stick lift all the way down. We’re seeing some really, really good stuff out of him.”

Knies — Matthews — Roslovic
McKenna — Tavares — Nylander
Cowan — Paul — Sissons
Lorentz — Blueger — Duhaime
Groulx

Rielly — Raddysh
McCabe — Tanev
Ekman-Larsson — Stecher
Andrae — Blankenburg