For most of the Maple Leafs’ hopefuls, this camp has not opened with a clean runway. It has opened with a crowded board.
The Marlies’ Calder Cup run in June gave a wave of younger players the sense that there might be room to push for more. But that picture changed fast after new general manager John Chayka and senior executive advisor Mats Sundin spent the summer adding bottom-six forwards and new defencemen, turning what had looked like an opportunity into a much tighter race for jobs.
That squeeze has been made even sharper by the structure of camp itself. With the regular season opener barely a week away, the Leafs are working through a short schedule and only four exhibition games split across two nights, leaving very little time for anyone trying to force his way into the conversation.
“It’s a lot tougher for the guys in this set up,” associate coach Daniel Alfredsson said before running the bench in Montreal on Saturday. “But this group came to camp in great shape and it means a lot to them.”
A lot of the projected starting lineup was already in place when camp began this week, including the lines and defence pairings. That left the Marlies contingent - including some players still chasing their first real crack after the Calder Cup - in the second and third practice groups.
Still, the message from the fringe players is clear: keep working and make yourself impossible to ignore.
“Any time there’s new management, they want to bring in their own guys they like,” winger Michael Pezzetta said Saturday. “For a lot of us (Marlie hopefuls), it’s a spot we’re familiar with.
But it’s showing up, earn your role and get back to where you want to be. It’s a long season and winning every single day will get you where you want to be.”
Pezzetta spoke before his group flew to Montreal, where he finished just short of the Gordie Howe hat trick in a 4-3 overtime loss. He dropped the gloves with Lucas Condotta in the first period and later set up a Marc Johnstone goal.
Henrik Rybinski also made noise in that game with a goal and an assist.
At the same time in Toronto, Marshall Rifai took on Florian Xhekaj as he continues working back from a long injury absence. Brendan Brisson, brought in late in camp, picked up coincidental minors with Arber Xhekaj at the Bell Centre.
Jacob Quillan is in a similar spot to Pezzetta after getting a look from the Leafs late last season, then helping the Marlies stay alive into late June. He logged 10:23 on Saturday in a choppy, penalty-filled game that ended in a 4-1 Canadiens win.
There was also a first trial for centre Tinus Luc Koblar and right winger Harry Nansi, both 2025 picks whose path has been complicated by McKenna’s arrival, under new coach Jim Hiller.
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