Mitch Marner's Maple Leafs breakup: How it got here and where it's going
Not long after he wore the Maple Leafs' blue and white for the first time, Mitch Marner summed up his first National Hockey League experience.
Article content
'I thought I could have been a lot better, that's for sure,' Marner said late on the night of Sept. 22, 2015, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, having just finished playing in his first NHL pre-season game. 'It's the jitters I'm getting out of me right now. I can improve out there.'
Article content
Article content
Article content
It would be another 12 1/2 months before Marner earned the opportunity with the Leafs, in games that mattered, to start making good on those thoughts.
Article content
Nearly nine years beyond Marner's regular-season Leafs debut, the firm belief in every corner is that his tenure with Toronto is coming to an end.
Article content
Simply put, the regular-season magic that Marner often put on display was not matched, certainly not commonly, when the annual Stanley Cup tournament got underway.
Article content
HOW DID HIS NHL DEBUT GO?
Article content
Within days of his skating in his pre-season debut with the Leafs nearly 10 years ago— and three months after Toronto picked him fourth overall in the 2015 NHL draft in Sunrise, Fla. — Marner was returned to the London Knights, deemed too green to make an impact in the NHL.
Article content
At the age of 18, Marner enjoyed a dream season in what would be his final Ontario Hockey League year, becoming just the second player (Brad Richards in 2000 with Rimouski was the first) to win the Memorial Cup, the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (Memorial Cup MVP), be named Canadian Hockey League player of the year, win league MVP honours, and win his league's playoff MVP award in the same season. No player has done it since.
Article content
There wasn't much doubt as to whether Marner would crack the Leafs roster coming out of training camp in 2016. Along with Auston Matthews and William Nylander, who played in 22 games with the Leafs in the previous season, Toronto's young core was set to start showing the city and the rest of the hockey world its collective potential.
Article content
Article content
The pre-season games aside, Marner's real-life NHL debut isn't remembered by many people outside of his immediate family. That's not because of what Marner did or didn't do, though he didn't have a point in Ottawa against the Senators on Oct. 12, 2016, when the Leafs kicked off their regular season.
Article content
Peer a little closer at the game sheet from that night and see what Marner did. Skating on a line with Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk, Marner had six shots on goal and 11 attempts, and his two takeaways (along with Matthews, the most in the game on either team) served notice as to the cerebral defensive stalwart that Marner eventually would become.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Here's why we're seeing more Canadians in the NBA than ever before
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, center, holds up the MVP trophy as he celebrates with his team after they won the NBA basketball championship with a Game 7 victory against the Indiana Pacers Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) As Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander held the NBA's Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy after a thrilling Game 7 NBA Finals victory against the Indiana Pacers Sunday, the Hamilton, Ont. native made history: becoming the first ever Canadian to win the Most Valuable Player and become an NBA champion. But Canada Basketball believes that's only the start. With more Canadian players in the NBA than ever before, the governing body for basketball in Canada believes there are even more MVP-caliber players that can make their mark on the sport, especially on an international level. 'My mind is on winning,' Rowan Barrett, general manager of Canada's national men's team, told CTV News in an interview Sunday. 'For me, it's got to be going to reach the top of the podium, so we're on our way and we're growing.' This year saw four Canadians in the NBA Finals: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort on the Oklahoma City Thunder, while Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin suited up in yellow for the Indiana Pacers. The four tied a record set last year for the number of Canadians in an NBA finals series. 'It's been something that's been evolving throughout the last decade, maybe even more,' said Canada Basketball assistant coach Michael Meeks. Better developmental programs Meeks believes there are a multitude of reasons why Canadian youth are getting better at basketball. For one, Meeks said basketball programs are spotting talent at a younger age, with many Canadians picking up a basketball and playing competitively much earlier. 'When we started targeting athletes around 13-14 years old, we're going around to each province and we're asking them to bring these athletes in front of us to see who is who and what is what at that age.' He adds that's when they start surrounding their environment with trainers, coaches and other competitive athletes to play against. 'Club basketball exploded. So, you've got tons of clubs, kids have places to play and barriers of entry are low," said Barrett. 'And then on top of that you have the provincial programs, that are having their programs in the summer where they go to the national champions.' The Canadian government has increased its funding to the sport in recent years, providing millions to Canada Basketball -- with further financial help from programs like Athlete Assistance Program and Sport Support Program. There is also an increase in professional coaches teaching youth, using techniques they've learned at a higher level. 'Canada Basketball puts some structures in to have your level one or your level two when you're coaching so there's some structure to how you're coaching and able to coach athletes,' said Barrett. Now, Meeks says there's a snowball effect taking place where the talent that Canada has already produced -- and the developmental programs in place -- are bringing in international talent, including from the U.S. 'Not only U.S. athletes but athletes from all over the world are coming into our school programs because they understand hey there's something good happening in Canada,' said Meeks. 'When one athlete makes it through, then there's kind of like a blueprint. And now, all the other athletes are going to follow that blueprint and they just keep moving the needle and our environment is just able to keep nurturing them." A cultural and mental shift in Canada Nembhard's former high school coach, Gus Gymnopoulos believes the introduction of the Toronto Raptors to Canada had a major impact in creating a new generation of Canadians who fell in love with the game. 'If you look at all the NBA guys, they're kind of at that age where they would have been impacted by that,' said Gymnopoulos in an interview with CTV News Saturday. 'I think it was definitely a type of catalyst.' According to Gymnopoulos, the NBA's presence in the country changed the mentality for Canadian youth, allowing them to believe achieving the NBA dream was possible. That was followed by Canadians slowly trickling into the league, with the exclamation mark that was B.C.'s Steve Nash winning the league's MVP twice. 'It's not just a sport to sweat anymore, it's not just a sport to go out and have fun. [Parents] now see a future -- and when parents see a future they take it more seriously, they seek the experts, they seek the competition,' Said Dwayne Washington, who coached both Gilgeous-Alexander and Nembhard in his UPlay program, which is a private club that develops young athletes in basketball and academics. " 'The players are better because the training has gotten better, coaches and developers have taken their craft a little more seriously,' added Washington.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
North America's best speed climbers reach new heights in Edmonton
The North American Cup Series of sport climbing put on a show in Edmonton with athletes racing up a wall in mere seconds. CBC News caught up with some of the competitors to learn what it takes to be a speed climber.
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
ANALYSIS: What's next on Jets GM's to-do list?
Now that an agreement has been reached by the Winnipeg Jets with Jonathan Toews on a one-year deal, what could be next on Kevin Cheveldayoff's to-do list? Under normal circumstances, Cheveldayoff would be en route to the host city of the NHL entry draft to huddle up with his management inner circle and the organization's pro and amateur scouting staffs. Story continues below advertisement But with the decentralized format in play for the 2025 event, which begins with Round 1 Friday at 6 p.m. central time at LA Live's Peacock Theatre, all meetings with draft picks will be done virtually. So that gives Cheveldayoff and company at least an extra 10-12 hours of non-commuting time to potentially have a last-minute conversation or two with Nikolaj Ehlers and/or his agent Andre Rufener ahead of the beginning of unrestricted free agency next Tuesday. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy And if the situation with Ehlers were to remain status quo, there would be extra time to work the phones and gauge the level of interest in the Jets' 28th overall pick Friday night in an attempt to bolster Winnipeg's present roster with a player that falls into the category of 'difficult to play against.' I'm pretty sure Cheveldayoff and the Jets are rarely, if ever, influenced by the actions of the other current Cup contenders, but the last four teams to win it all have placed very little stock recently in the long-term development of first-round draft picks. Story continues below advertisement Counting Friday night, Florida and Tampa Bay will have each had one first-round pick in total over the last five drafts. The Vegas Golden Knights have traded away six of the seven players they've selected in the first round since joining the NHL in 2017. The Colorado Avalanche have one first-round pick playing in their organization since taking Cale Makar fourth overall in 2017. As Tampa Bay GM Julien Brisebois said at the trading deadline this past spring, 'I'd rather have a lineup full of good players than a bank of a ton of draft picks.' Only Cheveldayoff knows if that's a rationale the Jets might consider adopting for their immediate future.
