As far as backstories go, not many athletes can match Dmytro Timashov’s. Timashov was born in the Ukraine but moved to Sweden as a 7-year-old, growing up in Stockholm. He speaks Swedish, Russian and English and can get by in Ukrainian and French. He just turned 20 and his career, which has now brought him to Toronto after the Leafs chose him in the 2015 NHL Draft, includes two previous stops in Quebec.
“I was in Shawinigan and it had one Tim Hortons,” says Timashov with a glint in his eye, recalling a trip to the small city in Quebec, famously the birthplace of former Prime Minister Jean Chretien. Junior hockey is still played mainly in such small- and medium-sized markets. Due to their stints playing in small towns across Canada and Europe, many players, even those who grew up in cities such as Toronto or Stockholm, often bring with them a small-town sensibility when they arrive in either the National Hockey League or the American Hockey League.
Yet the AHL landscape is starting to change, and the Marlies have been at the leading edge. NHL parent clubs now want their developing prospects closer to them. About a decade ago, they began moving their farm teams nearer to the big clubs. The Marlies moved to Toronto from St. John’s, Newfoundland, in 2005, and other AHL teams have recently relocated to bigger cities, such as Chicago, San Jose and Winnipeg. Traditional AHL markets such as Hershey and Springfield remain a vibrant part of the league, but bigger locales such as San Diego, Charlotte and Hartford, in addition to the dual AHL/NHL markets, are a growing part of the mix.
Toronto, however, is one of the AHL’s premiere destinations. “Calgary and Edmonton are big cities, but when you come to Toronto, it’s a whole new ball game,” says Marlies defenceman Andrew Neilsen, who grew up in Red Deer, Alberta. “It’s cool that everything flows through Toronto, that it is kind of a mecca of sports and that there is always something going on.” Neilsen was acclimatizing himself to his new home in the midst of the Blue Jays’ recent playoff run, as the World Cup of Hockey and later the Grey Cup and World Juniors were all being played here.
“I can think of a lot worse places to play,” says Marlies scoring leader Brendan Leipsic.
“I thought Gothenburg was big,” says Marlies rookie forward Andreas Johnson of the Swedish city where he grew up. “Toronto is a lot bigger. There is a lot to do here, with a lot of people, I really like it here.” His teammate, Timashov, concurs: “Toronto is the best place to be. You have all the resources here to get better. I’m just really proud to be here.”
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