RALEIGH, N.C.—If you are a Leafs fan and interested in the terrific crop of rookies in Toronto and around the NHL, then the next two games are must-see games.
Beginning with Sunday’s game (7 p.m. in Carolina), the Leafs and their league-leading rookie corps will face some of the very best rookies rivals the NHL has to offer.
“Yes, they’re very fast and you have to be on top of your game when you play them,” said Sebastian Aho, the Carolina winger having a splendid rookie season.
Flash forward to Tuesday in Toronto, and the ultimate rookie matchup — the Leafs’ Auston Matthews vs. Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine; the No. 1 pick in last June’s draft against No. 2 — takes centre stage.
But Aho and the Hurricanes certainly present a good test, a team that like the Leafs is building for the future by investing in young talent.
The 19-year-old Aho is seventh in rookie scoring, behind an impressive group of freshmen. Laine, with four goals in his last two games, has taken over the rookie scoring lead, two points ahead of Matthews and Mitch Marner. A third Leaf, William Nylander, is fourth, followed by Calgary’s Matt Tkachuk, and Columbus’s Zach Werenski.
Aho, Carolina’s second-round pick, 35th overall, in 2015, skates on a line with veteran Jordan Staal and Elias Lindholm, and is second on the Hurricanes with 17 goals. (Jeff Skinner leads with 19.) Coach Bill Peters says the organization has not been surprised by Aho’s performance.
“We expected him to be good . . . we saw what kind of game he had at the world junior championship (for Finland),” Peters said.
“He started out slowly, but that’s just getting acclimated to the game and the speed in the NHL. He’s competitive, more than I thought at first, and he just has a good skill set and a lot of determination.”
Aho also starred with Finland at the world championship and at the recent World Cup of Hockey. He played alongside Leafs forward Leo Komarov and while the two are friends, Aho is certainly aware of Komarov’s competitiveness when the puck drops.
“Leo’s a great guy, I learned things from him, but he’s not so nice when the game starts,” Aho said, smiling.
Carolina enters Sunday’s game eight points out of a wild-card berth. Toronto, after losing to Ottawa at home Saturday, sits a point outside the wild-card picture.
Interestingly, both teams have excelled on certain aspects of special teams despite their youth-oriented rosters. Toronto brings the NHL’s top power play, and top road power play, into Sunday’s game, while Carolina boasts the league’s top rated penalty-killing unit.
It’s expected backup goalie Curtis McElhinney will get the start Sunday night for Leafs. Starter Frederik Andersen was on the ice Sunday morning with defencemen Martin Marincin and Alexey Marchenko, an indication he will be on the bench against the Hurricanes.
Toronto is now 9-3-2 in the first game when they play on consecutive days, and 4-8-1 in the second.
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