Marlies season preview: GM Ryan Hardy on what to expect from 7 key players

Publish date: 2024-06-05

After an offseason of turnover, there’s reason to be optimistic about the Toronto Marlies.

Maple Leafs assistant GM and Marlies GM Ryan Hardy fired previous coach Greg Moore not long after the Marlies were swept by the Rochester Americans in the division finals. Hardy hired former Boston Bruins and New York Islanders assistant John Gruden. Gruden will be tasked with ushering an impressive class of rookies into full-time AHL duty.

But what are the keys to some of the Leafs’ best prospects’ development?

The Athletic sat down with Hardy to discuss what would constitute a successful season for some possible future Leafs.

Nick Robertson

Did Nick Robertson have the kind of NHL training camp that would warrant an NHL roster spot? For sure. His shot and motor should make him an NHL player, provided he can stay healthy.

But the energetic left winger was squeezed out, once again. He was one of the final Leafs cuts. For the third year over the last four seasons (the other season being 2022-23 when he missed the majority of his campaign with shoulder surgery), Robertson looks likely to spend the majority of this season in the AHL.

“I’m pretty much numb to the situation, it’s happened so many times,” Robertson, 22, told The Athletic, sounding far more downtrodden than he did in training camp.

Is he frustrated?

“Obviously. My goal is to play in the NHL. Maybe this is just another step in getting there,” Robertson said.

Still, it’s not all bad for Robertson. Had he stuck with the Leafs, he might have played sheltered bottom-six minutes, possibly without any power play time.

But he needs to play. Like, a lot. More than the 82 total games he’s logged over the last three seasons across the NHL and AHL.

The message from the Leafs was a reminder: He hadn’t played as much as both he and the team wanted him to with his shoulder injury.

“Each bit of adversity that he faces, it has to be frustrating to have all these stops and starts and to feel like you’re not gaining traction. It’s incumbent on us to create an environment where he can build some positive momentum,” Hardy said.

So as expected, Robertson looks slated to log top-line minutes as well as on the team’s first power play unit. He knows there are expectations to produce plenty with the Marlies. And that’s what he wants: To get as many puck touches in as possible. With that come subtle changes the Marlies would like to see from Robertson to build that momentum.

“Maybe managing his timing and his speed, making sure he’s getting his pucks in good areas to score goals,” Hardy said. “It’s a tough thing for him because he’s so competitive, there’s times he’s going to have to pick his spots and be a little more strategic.”

Hardy liked how Robertson utilized his teammates in the preseason, which had long been a requirement of the young forward from the Leafs development staff.

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Topi Niemela

After joining the Marlies late last season from Finland’s Liiga and excelling, the opportunities for the intelligent, puck-moving right-shot defenceman won’t dissipate.

“I would expect him to play a lot,” Hardy said.

The 2020 third-round pick will quarterback the team’s first power play unit. Niemela, 21, has no shortage of fans throughout the organization, but there are genuine concerns about how his 179-pound frame is going to hold up through his first full AHL season. Hardy wants Niemela to add lean muscle while still logging heavy minutes.

Not an easy task, but there’s confidence behind the scenes in Niemela’s maturity and his preparation.

“We want to find a delicate balance of giving him a lot, exposing him a lot and being prepared should he get a call-up opportunity this season, or be prepared to get to the next level of his training next summer and make a push next fall,” Hardy said. “But he’s going to get reps in a lot of areas.”

Dmitry Ovchinnikov

While the Marlies want the 2020 fifth-round pick to play to his identity as a skilled, high-upside centre who can make creative plays with the puck, Hardy acknowledges Ovchinnikov is “physically smaller than most players at this level.”

There were glimpses of Ovchinnikov’s potential last season with Sibir, where he played his first full KHL season. But he’s likely going to log more than the 9:43 ATOI he did through 68 games last season and the Marlies have a specific area of focus: To improve both his wall play and his ability to take the puck to the net, Ovchinnikov, 21, has to add size throughout the season.

That, and becoming acclimatized to living in North America.

“It’s a delicate balance to manage that while letting guys learn the hard lessons of transitioning into this level while maintaining their confidence,” Hardy said.

Roni Hirvonen

Another member of the Leafs 2020 draft class is finally going to play his first full season in North America. And the creative, energetic and feisty winger has a fan in Hardy.

“I really like him. He’s a wonderful kid,” Hardy said. “He’s very intense in his hockey.”

There were multiple people throughout the Leafs organization who believed Hirvonen’s simple and effective game stood out in the Traverse City rookie tournament, to the point that he was considered the team’s best player over three games.

Expect Hirvonen, 21, to be asked to lean into some of the pro-ready traits in his game, whether that’s physicality down low, recovering defensively, or keeping his line moving forward in transition.

“The main area of his development is going to be his skating,” Hardy said. “But we’re going to put him in situations with good players and getting put in situations to see what he can do. He’s not a big guy in terms of height, and we’re going to continue to work on his skating. But everything else, I think he has some really, really high-end elements. He’s a smart, competitive player. And usually, if you start with that foundation, that’s a good place to build from.”

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Bobby McMann

Had Bobby McMann been healthy for the entirety of training camp, he might have forced his way onto the Leafs roster. But instead, a lingering knee injury meant the hulking and speedy winger got a slow start and eventually passed through waivers to the Marlies.

You get the sense that his time in the AHL could be short, however.

“He can score goals almost at will (in the AHL),” Hardy said.

Hardy is right: 21 goals in 30 AHL games last season isn’t too shabby. But he would still like to see McMann, 27, become even more abrasive in the dirty areas of the ice and not always rely on trying to earn scoring chances off the rush. It can be easy to forget, given how much pace McMann utilizes, that he stands 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds. That kind of size seems perfect for a bottom-six energy player who can chip in some offence.

“It’s just gaining the confidence and momentum in that environment,” Hardy said of McMann’s NHL future. “His work ethic is among the best we have.”

Dennis Hildeby

The Marlies goalie crease is crowded: NHL veteran Martin Jones cleared waivers, to the surprise of the organization. That means Jones, Keith Petruzzelli and Dennis Hildeby will rotate games throughout the season. But Hardy did stress that the focus for the Marlies in goal this season was development, which suggests Hildeby could end up pushing for the starting job toward the end of his first season in North America. The 6-foot-7, 222-pound goalie already logged 21 games in the SHL last season and put up an impressive .918 save percentage as a 21-year-old.

That may just be the start for the 2022 fourth-round pick.

“I like Dennis a lot as a kid, the way he trains, the way he wants to grow,” Hardy said. “He looks confident and composed. I’m bullish on him.”

Like any goaltender coming to the AHL, Hildeby will have to improve his reads as he faces better shooters than he has in the past.

Hardy believes he’s up for the task.

“I like when a guy has a mindset to audit the areas he has to grow in and commit to a plan. You really can’t ask for much more in a prospect,” Hardy said.

Mikko Kokkonen

The 2019 third-round pick made quite the impression at Leafs training camp, sticking around as long as any defenceman before getting assigned to the Marlies. Sheldon Keefe even called Kokkonen the “surprise of camp.” This comes after a trying rookie season in North America in 2022-23. Kokkonen’s smart and responsible game struggled to translate from Liiga.

“I find this a lot with kids who come out of junior and haven’t faced a ton of adversity in their career: When they’re not locked in the lineup, the adversity smacks them in the face. And that happened to him early last year,” Hardy said.

Not surprisingly, Kokkonen’s confidence suffered and he spent time in the ECHL.

“For him, he thought where he was at the start of last year is where he is now. It’s tough,” Hardy said. “But he did an amazing job this summer putting on some good, lean muscle. He looks bigger and more confident. It’s something these guys just have to go through.”

Hardy challenged Kokkonen this offseason to think differently about his future. And Kokkonen did, returning a more confident person.

“To his credit, he has a great passion for hockey and great self-belief,” Hardy. “There’s more substance to his confidence.”

Though Keefe tapped Kokkonen as the kind of defenceman who could be in line for a call-up this season, should he stay with the Marlies, a little more physicality near the goal and some offence to go with his strong first pass and excellent defensive positioning could go a long way. Kokkonen is expected to rise up the Marlies depth chart this season.

(Photo of Bobby McMann: Dan Hamilton / USA Today)

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