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Toronto Sun LOADED: 09.19.2013

717344 Toronto Maple Leafs

MacWilliam making it tough on Leafs

By Rob Longley ,Toronto Sun

First posted: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 08:16 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 08:21 PM EDT

When training camp began a week ago, Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle had a simple message for the majority of the 59 original invitees:

Separate yourself from the competition.

The ones that didn’t found themselves on the “other” rink at the MasterCard Centre on Wednesday for opening day of the Marlies training camp. The handful that did, will continue to get a chance to prove themselves.

One such player in the latter group is Andrew MacWilliam, a hard-hitting defenceman whose physical play has clearly caught the attention of Carlyle and his staff. It began in the rookie tournament in London and continued through the early days of practice and two pre-season contests.

“I kind of came here with the mindset of making it a tough decision on the coaching staff,” MacWilliam said Wednesday. “Obviously, (the Leafs) are a little heavy up top so I’ve got to focus on what I can do and what I can control.

“Ideally, you want to stay up top as long as you can and if not, go do what you can do with the Marlies.”

MacWilliam is one of three defencemen to graduate from the rookie tourney and stay among the 34 remaining in camp. The other two are first-round picks Stuart Percy and Morgan Rielly, the latter trailed by far greater fanfare.

But MacWilliam has no illusions of being a puck-mover like Percy and Rielly.

“I’m not here to be an offensive guy, they know what I bring,” said MacWilliam, a late draft pick in 2008 who was the captain at the University of North Dakota last season. “I’ve got to be sturdy and physical and take care of my own. All along, that’s the way I’ve played.”

Who Axed You?

For the early cuts, anyway, Carlyle had minimal contact with the players involved. Handling that process was assistant GM Dave Poulin and Marlies coach Steve Spott.

“The organization has met and described a bunch of things to the Marlies coaches on what our expectations are for areas of improvement,” Carlyle said. “Management usually delivers that, but the next round will be the coaching staff and management.”

With 14 players cut on Tuesday, two more made the walk across the MCC lobby on Wednesday when defenceman Jesse Blacker and forward Tyler Biggs were dispatched to the Marlies.

Net Pains

Added to the list of challenges James Reimer is facing in this training camp — getting used to the new, slightly reduced goalie pads. Reimer says the transition hasn’t been a major issue yet, though for the first time, he believes a puck got by him during Wednesday’s practice that he would have stopped with the old gear.

“I went to make the save and looked down and it went right through,” Reimer said. “The only thing you can do is try to snap your pads together a little quicker but it’s going to happen.”

With just one practice group now that cuts have been made, Reimer noticed an uptick in seriousness on Wednesday.

“Any time there are cuts, it’s a reminder you’re getting closer and closer to the season so you try to ramp it up a little bit,” Reimer said. “The closer you get, the harder you compete, I think.”

Here and there ...

Again, not to read too much into training camp practice lines, but here’s one that could well be the opening night third unit — Mason Raymond, Dave Bolland and Nik Kulemin were a group on Wednesday. Don’t be surprised if we see much more of that trio during the six remaining pre-season tilts ... With an off-day Tuesday, Carlyle made sure his group got some serious work in with a 20-minute bag skate to end the session ... Leafs players bound for Ottawa for Thursday’s game will have a morning-skate in Toronto then fly to the capital in the afternoon ... Carlyle on potentially greater expectations for the team’s leading scorer, Phil Kessel: “With every player in our camp, we’re asking for more. That goes right from our highest level of players to our lowest.” ... Carlyle admitted the task of building his blue line may be the most challenging in this camp, a puzzle further complicated by the absence of Cody Franson. “I write a lot of things down and a lot of combinations over the summer,” Carlyle said. “Sometimes the best-laid plans in June aren’t the ones you use in September.” ... While he didn’t generate nearly the attention of Joffrey Lupul’s return to action, Colton Orr was also back on skates, working out before practice began. Carlyle said that Orr will skate again later in the week and if he’s recovered from the bruised leg will practise fully on the weekend ... Rough and tumble forward Troy Bodie was absent Wednesday because of an oblique strain.

Toronto Sun LOADED: 09.19.2013

717345 Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs star Joffrey Lupul back on the ice

By Lance Hornby ,Toronto Sun

First posted: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 06:50 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 11:05 PM EDT

Randy Carlyle would rather not build up Joffrey Lupul’s importance to the Maple Leafs compared to other top-six forwards.

But with a points-per-game average of .915 since joining Toronto (perennial leading scorer Phil Kessel checks in with .902), Lupul leaves a huge hole in the lineup when he’s absent.

Unfortunately, that has happened a lot since late in the 2011-12 season when Lupul went down and the Maple Leafs fell out of the playoff race. In the shortened 2013 campaign, he managed 24 points in as many games, including the playoffs.

His goal of completing close to a full schedule this year hit a bump a few days before camp when lower back spasms flared up, a red flag for a player with his track record of trouble in that region.

But a week into Camp Carlyle, Lupul was back on the ice, though it was pre-determined he wasn’t recovered enough to endure one of the coach’s dreaded marathon skates.

“Obviously, not the way I wanted to start, but I’m just happy everything’s feeling better now,” Lupul said Wednesday.

“We’re taking it slow. It’s obviously not the same way you’d probably treat an injury in the regular season. It’s good that way. I guess time’s on my side.”

Lupul’s back surgeries and a related infection while with the Anaheim Ducks nearly ended his NHL career. That experience and the trade to Toronto gave him new determination to make as much of his remaining NHL days count. That led to 67 points in 66 games his first full year as a Leaf before a series of upper-body injuries struck, including a broken forearm in Toronto’s fourth game last season.

Then came this latest reversal.

“I was skating the day before camp and I was working quite a bit with Barb (Underhill, the club’s skating instructor) that week. I just had some tightness in there and it ended up going into spasm, which is a pretty painful thing for a couple days.

“I kind of just made the decision to push on through it, which probably wasn’t the right idea. It was a bit of a concern just because I have some history with the lower back.

“(The week off) is just making sure that everything’s 100%. This isn’t the time to really push through an injury and we’re not treating it like we would if it was the regular season or playoffs. We’re being a lot more cautious. There’s still plenty of time until opening day (Oct. 1), so I’m feeling confident.”

Carlyle was certainly relieved on Wednesday to see the left winger, whom he played in his old No. 1 line spot with Kessel and Tyler Bozak, re-assigning James van Riemsdyk for that part of the practice.

“All indications from when he spent the hour with us is that, hopefully, the spasm issues are behind him,” Carlyle said. “He looked much better, felt much better and he’s an option in our next couple of exhibition games.”

That’s likely going to be one of the home-and-homes with the Buffalo Sabres on the weekend, following the Leafs’ Thursday’s trip to Ottawa.

“It’s exhibition,” reminded Lupul of pressing too hard, too quickly. “I feel like doing the Allen Iverson (practice) rant. It’s a pre-season game, so you’re certainly going to take things slow.”

Carlyle was asked if Lupul’s all-out style can leave him at risk for injury.

“There is probably some merit to that, but I wouldn’t say it has to be toned down. He has to pick and choose a little bit more cautiously in some situations. What happened with him more than anything is that he was frustrated with his injuries and tried to come back and make an impact right away.”

Yet Carlyle prefers the committed, fire-breathing Lupul of the present day to a few years ago when part of him embraced the life of a young athlete in Southern California.

“I look at it and reflect back on my youth and some of the things I did when I was younger,” Carlyle said with a grin. “I’m sure there’s a group (of media) here that would like to take some of those decisions back. I’m not saying he was off-the-wall, but there are some things you do differently.

“That’s shown the maturity of him as a person, his recognition of where he’s at in his career. It’s a tribute to him.”

The Maple Leafs have three exhibition games in the next four nights, during which the Cody Franson contract impasse might break.

Either the Leafs keep using newcomers such as Paul Ranger and Morgan Rielly on defence to show the Franson camp they’re prepared to start the regular season without him, or some give-and-take finally results in the two-year deal Toronto hopes he’ll ink.

At this stage, the Leafs appear determined to side-step the restricted free agent’s wish for a one-year deal, as management is wary of having too many defencemen up for renegotiation in the summer of 2014.

TSN reports the Leafs are willing to offer Franson in the neighbourhood of $3 million US a year, which projects them to go slightly over the $64.3 million cap this season. But the team was already talking about moving some one-way contract money to the Marlies, even before their other RFA, centre Nazem Kadri, came back to the fold.

A week into training camp, Franson has been working out with the Ryerson University Rams at Mattamy Athletic Centre, site of old Maple Leaf Gardens.

Toronto Sun LOADED: 09.19.2013

717346 Toronto Maple Leafs

Senators forward Bobby Ryan 'owes' Leafs coach Randy Carlyle

By Bruce Garrioch ,Ottawa Sun

First posted: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 05:30 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 06:03 PM EDT

OTTAWA - As if the Battle of Ontario didn't have enough spice already, Bobby Ryan's arrival has added another subplot.

The new Senators winger will get his first glimpse of the Battle of Ontario in a pre-season version of the provincial rivalry as the Toronto Maple Leafs arrive at the Canadian Tire Centre Thursday night.

But Ryan, 26, is familiar with Toronto coach Randy Carlyle from being together with the Anaheim Ducks and while there's mutual respect, they won't be spending any time in the hallway after the game catching up.

"We're not going to say hello or anything, but it certainly won't be something where I'm aiming a puck at the bench. That's for sure ... That's not going to cross my mind at all," said Ryan with a smile Wednesday.

Carlyle and Ryan didn't always see eye-to-eye during their four years together with the Ducks. Carlyle demanded that Ryan be part of the program and that's a big reason why his name always lingered in trade rumours.

Looking back on it all, though, the four-time 30-plus goal scorer appreciates the way Carlyle pushed Ryan's buttons, even if he didn't like it at the time. What has happened in the past, according to Ryan, is water under the bridge.

"There's a lot more made of that than there really is," said Ryan. "People tended to read into more than there was. It wasn't a bad relationship, it just wasn't a great one.

"He's a tough coach. I do still really owe him quite a bit for becoming the player I am. That isn't lost on me one bit."

Carlyle is considered by many to be a taskmaster. You either buy into the program or you won't play. There is no question the relationship was strained when he left the Ducks.

"He's extremely demanding and he's tough, but he's also very fair," said Ryan. "He can be a players' coach. He wants to get the best out of you, so I think I was young and didn't always understand he always had my best intentions in mind for the team.

"I probably took things a little too personally. I've gotten older and probably a little more mature."

Ryan said he's grown up a lot since Carlyle left the Ducks after being fired by GM Bob Murray only 24 games into the 2011-12 season.

"Sometimes I felt like he was a little too hard on me," said Ryan. "That was just being young and not taking things the right way. That's all it was. I don't think it was any reason he was let go or anything like that.

"I just wish I hadn't taken it so personally when it came across. That's all it was. I truthfully don't think he had anything but the best intentions for me."

Carlyle, speaking to Toronto reporters Wednesday, had nothing but praise for Ryan and the way he has matured on and off the ice.

"Bobby was a young kid who had a different body make-up than he has now. He put a lot of time and effort in to get himself in the type of condition he is now than when he came out of junior," Carlyle said.

"He's very talented and dangerous as soon as he steps over the blueline in the offensive end. He can score from all areas and has a tremendous amount of reach and skill. He's an offensive weapon that we'll have to deal with. He's grown into a mature player, on and off the ice."

Ryan said when he looks back on everything that transpired with Carlyle, he wishes he hadn't taken it so personally at the time. Yes, that is part of becoming a professional.

"It is part of growing as a player and as a person, absolutely," said Ryan. "I think I've grown by leaps and bounds over the last two years in that regard.

"I can take things and separate them now whereas I couldn't when I was younger. I just always felt like I was the scapegoat with him. Sometimes I needed more than I knew ... That pressure, that push. I certainly regret a lot of what went on."

Toronto Sun LOADED: 09.19.2013

717347 Toronto Maple Leafs

Randy Carlyle is all business at Maple Leafs practice

By Rob Longley , Lance Hornby ,Toronto Sun

First posted: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 11:04 AM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 01:44 PM EDT

The second week of training camp is underway for the Maple Leafs and with opening night less than two weeks out, it's time to get down to business.

Management and coach Randy Carlyle trimmed the roster by 14 on Tuesday - while the players enjoyed a day off - leaving 37 players on the main roster for the six remaining pre-season games.

Check in here for updates from today's practice, which gets under way at 10:30 a.m. at the team's practice facility in Etobicoke.

Toronto Sun LOADED: 09.19.2013

717348 Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs undeterred by extra coverage from HBO’s 24/7

Michael Traikos | 18/09/13 | Last Updated: 18/09/13 6:07 PM ET

Distracted?

Nazem Kadri could not help but laugh. The Toronto Maple Leafs forward had just been asked if HBO’s obtrusive “24/7” documentary series, which on Wednesday began chronicling the days leading up to the Jan. 1 Winter Classic outdoor game against the Detroit Red Wings, was something that the players would have to get used to.

With five cameras and about a dozen reporters in his face, it seemed like a silly question.

“Doubtful,” said Kadri. “You guys are around all the time, so we’ve gotten pretty used to it. I don’t think anyone is going to be pretty distracted by it.”

Indeed, if there is a team that should be able to ignore the cameras recording their every move it is the Leafs. And yet, for all the attention that the players receive, some still manage to avoid the media.

When the dressing room doors opened after Wednesday’s practice, only three players were present. That will not be the case with HBO, which will essentially be a fly on the wall as the players go through their daily routines.

“Well, they’re going to live like I do now,” said head coach Randy Carlyle, joking. “I have you guys in my face all the time. They’re going to have to live a little more like that. Obviously it’s a challenge to get used to but I don’t think it’s that drastic.”

Despite the intrusion, some players are looking forward to sharing what life is like as a professional hockey player.

“You should have fun with it,” said forward Joffrey Lupul. “People want to see the players’ personalities and the preparation for games. I think the key is to probably be yourself. I’ve watched the show in the past and it’s entertaining and I would expect it to be the same this year.”

* * *

Colton Orr (bruised foot), Frazer McLaren (fractured finger) and Troy Bodie (strained oblique) missed practice because of injuries.

* * *

It is still too early to make much of line combinations. But with the Leafs’ roster down to a more manageable number, some could not help but note which players were playing together.

“I’m not exactly sure who’s going to be playing with who,” said Lupul, who did not put much stock into the lines. “I’m sure it will get mixed and matched throughout the year. But I think it’s a good mixture of speed and size and we’ve added some grit.”

National Post LOADED: 09.19.2013

717349 Toronto Maple Leafs

Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matt Frattin gets ‘warm welcome,’ chance at second-line job with Los Angeles Kings

Greg Beacham, Associated Press | 18/09/13 1:48 PM ET

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Matt Frattin moved to Southern California this summer with a plan.

Drew MacIntyre knows he's not making the Maple Leafs, but is thankful anyway

Three weeks before the Los Angeles Kings opened training camp, he found a place close to the ocean in Hermosa Beach, but he wasn’t looking for surf or sand.

After an up-and-down hockey career filled with arrests and accolades, the 25-year-old Frattin realized the opportunity in front of him with his new club, and he didn’t want to waste a day of it.

“I wanted to meet the guys as they came in (for camp), instead of meeting 25 guys at once,” Frattin said.

The first few days of camp have gone well for Frattin, acquired by the Kings in a summer trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s skating with veterans Jeff Carter and Mike Richards as the left wing of the Kings’ second line, getting every opportunity to earn a high-profile job with the two-time Western Conference finalists.

“Ever since I got traded, I’ve had a warm welcome from the leaders in the room,” Frattin said. “They’re a great group of guys, and I’m happy to be here.”

Frattin announced his arrival Tuesday night with a goal and two assists in the Kings’ 6-0 rout of the Anaheim Ducks. Carter had two goals and an assist of his own, including a breakaway goal set up by a deflection off Frattin’s stick.

If he wants to play with them guys, he’s got to be a real north-south, energy sort of guy

Frattin has shown a good-looking shot and above-average speed in his brief time in town, but the Kings hope he’s got the heart of a grinder who could do much of the dirty work on the Carter-Richards line. Frattin knows he must improve his defensive commitment to win coach Darryl Sutter’s approval.

“If he wants to play with them guys, he’s got to be a real north-south, energy sort of guy,” Sutter said after seeing Frattin in a game for the first time Tuesday. “We’ll give him power-play time, give him some penalty-kill time. Make him work.”

For all of their veteran depth, the Kings are seriously short of proven left wings this fall beyond captain Dustin Brown. Grinder Kyle Clifford and newcomer Daniel Carcillo also play the position, but Frattin’s skills could make him the best option for the second-line job.

“They’re two great players,” Frattin said. “Carts has the fast speed down the wing, and he’s got that long reach, and he has a great shot. Richie is just a smart, hard-working guy, and he’ll get you the puck if you’re wheeling. … They’re guys who have played in the Olympics and for Team Canada plenty of times, so they’ve definitely proven themselves. They definitely bring me along, and they’re great linemates for me.”

Los Angeles also got goalie Ben Scrivens and a second-round draft pick for goalie Jonathan Bernier, widely considered a future star. Some Kings fans thought the franchise didn’t get enough for Bernier, but Frattin believes he has potential he still hasn’t reached.

I really didn’t think I was going to get traded. But everybody wants to be a part of a winning team

The Alberta native played collegiately at North Dakota, but was kicked off the team and sent home in 2009 after getting arrested twice in two months for disorderly conduct and drunk driving. He elected to stick with school, working his way back onto the North Dakota roster and eventually becoming a Hobey Baker Award finalist.

Toronto’s fourth-round pick went pro in 2011, but still hasn’t played a full NHL season, bouncing between the Leafs and the AHL Marlies during each of the past two years. He still found a regular role on the right side of Toronto’s third line, and he got his first taste of playoff hockey in the Leafs’ agonizing first-round loss to the Boston Bruins.

Frattin hasn’t completely made the transition to West Coast life: His Twitter page background is still a photo of him in a Maple Leafs uniform. The move to Los Angeles surprised him, but Frattin quickly realized the opportunity he had been granted.

“I really didn’t think I was going to get traded,” he said. “But everybody wants to be a part of a winning team.”

National Post LOADED: 09.19.2013

717350 Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs’ Drew MacIntyre knows he’s not making the team, but is thankful anyway

Sean Fitz-Gerald | 18/09/13 | Last Updated: 18/09/13 6:17 PM ET

TORONTO — Dressing-room attendants were hurriedly filling and zipping bags of equipment all around Drew MacIntyre as he spoke near his stall. Not an hour before, the 30-year-old journeyman goaltender was being cheered loudly inside the Air Canada Centre, but it was quiet now, and he was contemplative: “I just want to enjoy it.”

Leafs hopeful tells father-in-law Tim Leiweke — 'in the nicest way possible' — not to make decisions on his hockey career

He was one of the last players left inside the room.

“I want to enjoy the moment,” he said. “I know I’m not making this hockey team, but I’m thankful to be here.”

On Monday night, MacIntyre, who was almost frozen out of the game last season, made a relief appearance for the Toronto Maple Leafs in their second game of the pre-season. He stopped 13 of the 14 shots he faced against the Philadelphia Flyers in regulation, drawing praise from Leafs coach Randy Carlyle and a spotlight on the television broadcast.

If the central narrative of the team’s training camp is a focus on which goaltender will be No. 1 and which will be No. 2 on the depth chart when the season opens next month — a battle between James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier — the story of the potential No. 3 is a worthy note.