The Monday Marlie: Sandin Impresses in Marlies Debut
5 years ago
One month after sustaining a thumb injury in a pre-season game with the Toronto Marlies, Rasmus Sandin, the Leafs 2018 first round pick, made his AHL debut.
Sandin, 18, spent last season with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Years prior, he played junior hockey back home in Sweden. Jumping into AHL action last weekend was quite the test for Sandin, but he answered the bell.
In the early stages of the game, though, Sandin struggled. Throughout his first three shifts, the Uppsala Sweden native was looking to make the right plays, but his timing was off–a virtue of the tough transition from the OHL to the AHL.
“Plays just happen quicker. I think that you’re almost in a hurry to get the puck off your stick because of the pressure,” said Vincent LoVerde, Sandin’s defence partner in his first game. “Everything’s faster [in the AHL] than it was in Junior.”
Then on his fourth shift, Sandin got a little boost of confidence after scoring his first career AHL goal.
From there-on-out, Sandin tightened things up. He adapted, rather quickly, to the speed of the game, allowing himself to deliver effective break-out passes.
He also displayed some slick puck skills while patrolling the Marlies blue-line in the offensive zone.
Seeing an 18-year-old be so poised with the puck at the AHL level, while maintaining his defensive responsibility, impressed Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe.
“He’s very calm. He doesn’t waste an ounce of energy when he’s on the ice,” said Keefe. “He’s very much in control and a lot of that comes from his brain, just the way it works mentally, how he processes things is very good. That allows him to be comfortable in these surroundings.”
These surroundings can be daunting for many in Sandin’s position. Going from a league of boys to a league of players one-tier below the NHL isn’t easy.
“The guys are coming a little quicker. They’re bigger. They’re stronger,” said Sandin. “I think all those main things are making a huge difference in the game overall.”
But Sandin, a quick-learner, adapted throughout the game. And when it was all said and done, Sandin played a hell-of-a-game, hardly looking out of place in the final 40 minutes of the game.
“Now I know a little bit how the players I’m playing against will be,” said Sandin.
Yet, despite the impressive showing against Syracuse, amalgamating Sandin to the AHL is still a lengthy-process.
“He’s still a young player, obviously. You want to make sure that you’re putting him in spots to succeed,” said Keefe.
Playing on the teams third pair, alongside a defensively-minded veteran in LoVerde, may be the best course of action, for now. But if Sandin continues to adapt and learn the way he showed he can, don’t be surprised if his usage starts to catapult, be it on even strength, or special teams.
One things all-but-certain, though–Sandin’s a special talent and if he continues to impress the Leafs brass with the Marlies, he won’t be playing hockey in Sweden anytime soon.
Defensive Improvements Propelling Marlies
The Marlies have clawed their way to .500 hockey, after starting out the year 1-4-0-1. The Marlies recent three-game winning streak can be attributed to the team playing better defence, as a group of five.
Marlies defence stats
First 6 games: 5.33 goals allowed per game, 35.6 shots against per game.
Last 3 games: 1.33 goals allowed per game, 22.6 shots against per game.
“For both [Glass] and Kaskisuo, we made life very hard for them with how we performed early on, defensively,” said Keefe. “It was very tough to be a goaltender for our team.”
So, what’s sparked the change?
“We’re playing with a lot more purpose,” said Keefe. “We’ve spent a lot more time on [defence] here in the last couple weeks. Our guys have a better idea of what we expect from them and they’re executing.”
The Marlies defensive struggles early-on in the season was quite a surprise given the personnel on their blue-line and the core pieces still in-tact from last years championship squad. But, a short-training camp and lack of familiarity between the teams new net minder, Jeff Glass, and the club, lead to some dysfunction.
But nevertheless, if these last three games proved anything, the Marlies could get back on track, returning to their defensively-sound playing style.
“I don’t think it has to be a shootout for us to win. We might of kind of started to get that reputation at the start of the year, that we’re a high-scoring team,” said goaltender Jeff Glass. “I think we can win the low-scoring games as well.”
News and Notes
- Auston Matthews left Saturday’s game against Winnipeg early with a shoulder injury. Matthews will be out four weeks. If/when the Leafs recall a forward, there’s little doubt that it should be Trevor Moore.
- Marlies centre Adam Brooks could return this week. Keefe said Tuesday that he was feeling better and was skating, but would not be available for the game against Syracuse. Perhaps we see him on Friday, in Cleveland.
- The Marlies sent forward JJ Piccinich and goaltender Eamon McAdam to the Growlers on Saturday. McAdam was demoted for the purpose of getting into some game-action. After picking up a win for the Growlers on Saturday, the Marlies recalled him the following day.
- I wouldn’t be shocked if Piccinich remains with the Growlers, for a bit. With Pierre Engvall back in the lineup, and with Adam Brooks seemingly close to healthy, Piccinich could be boxed out from getting a spot on the Marlies four-forward lines.
- The Marlies are 4-4-0-1, currently tied for 3rd in the North division.
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