Sheldon Keefe issued a firm message to his Maple Leafs at the outset of camp: Tryouts start now. (lukefoxjukebox)
Those hopefuls were among the first arrivals for Phase 2’s voluntary workouts, with Americans like Robertson and Agostino arriving weeks in advance to serve their mandatory 14-quarantine on this side of the border.
“My big thing is, you control what you can control in this game, and you just got to be ready for whenever that opportunity comes about,” an eager Agostinobefore driving up from New Jersey. “You never know what the next year and a half could bring.” Perhaps this theme of internal competition is being promoted to light a fire under some inconsistent third-line forwards and to accelerate the urgency necessary to leap into a best-of-five showdown versus super-motivator John Tortorella’s Columbus Blue Jackets on Aug. 2.The sports-mad locals are starving for hockey and hope, so it makes sense the 18-year-old sniper’s practice highlights have already gone viral.“He’s a guy that’s going to continue to push.
“He wasn’t going to do what a lot of young players do, which is kinda tiptoe around on the ice and try to figure out what his place is. He’s going to come with the mindset that he’s going to leave it all out here and try to make the team,” Dubas explained onTuesday evening. “As some of the older, more veteran players sort of get back into their top form, how he responds to that is what we’re really looking for.”“He needs to really show it, make it obvious that he’s ready,” Keefe said.
By way of comparison, the Jackets aren’t scheduling their first scrimmage until later this week. Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau
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