Doan’s message gives underdogs hope at Leafs development camp

Players at the Toronto Maple Leafs development camp practised at Ford Performance Centre on Saturday.

This week, the camp attendees have heard from some of the biggest names in the Leafs organization.

“Everyone’s path to the NHL is different,” said Saskatoon Blades winger Brandon Lisowsky, a seventh-round pick by the Leafs in 2022. “Just listening to people talking about different paths and journeys is an awesome thing. Those are big takeaways for me.”

Team president Brendan Shanahan, pro scout Jake Muzzin, player development staff member Patrick O’Sullivan, and special advisor to the general manager Shane Doan were among those sharing their stories.

“I liked to hear from Shane Doan,” said Owen Sound Attack winger Sam McCue, a seventh-round pick by Toronto last month. “He had a great story.”

Drafted seventh overall by the Winnipeg Jets in 1995, Doan played 1,540 NHL games. He captained the Arizona Coyotes and Team Canada internationally. However, his stellar career almost didn’t take off.

“For my first four years in the show, honestly, I wasn’t a great player,” Doan wrote in a 2015 Players Tribune piece. “If you look up my point totals early on, they don’t really paint a picture of a guy that would end up having a long career in this league. I was averaging just about 15 points per season. But for one reason or another, this organization showed faith in me… My story could have been drastically different if not for this organization’s patience during my development.”

Of the 46 players at the Leafs camp, only 17 were drafted by the team. Only two are first-round picks, so there are many lower-round picks and free agents looking to defy the odds.

For many of them, Doan’s words resonated.

“He had a great career,” said Boston University Terriers winger Quinn Hutson, a free agent invitee. “He’s telling stories about how he started off. He kind of got a late start, but he found a way for 21 years, so it’s pretty cool to get a message like that from him.”

“I really like him as a person,” Lisowsky said. “He didn’t cut corners. I think someone like that is a good person to hear from.”

The Leafs decided not to sign Lisowsky to an entry-level deal but invited him back to development camp after he went undrafted in June and became a free agent.

“I didn’t take it too much as a personal thing,” the 20-year-old from Port Coquitlam, B.C. said. “It’s a business now. It’s not junior anymore. It’s a pro level, so I didn’t take it personally. Obviously, I wanted it, but I’m happy they wanted me back. I love being here.”

“It was really hard for him not to get signed,” said assistant general manager and head of player development Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser. “We have talked to him about being positive, coming here, having a great camp, and looking at what we can do moving forward. We have a lot of belief in him on the development side of things.”

Lisowsky is aiming to earn an American Hockey League contract instead of returning to Saskatoon for an over-age season.

“I always try to prove people wrong,” the 5-foot-9 sharpshooter said. “That’s what you do as an undersized guy. A lot of people peg you as an undersized guy or whatever, but I don’t take that personally. I take it as fuel to keep getting better.”

Lisowsky scored 42 goals in 68 games in the Western Hockey League last season. He added seven more goals in 16 playoff games as the Blades reached the conference final.

“Very few players can rip the puck and score the way he can,” Wickenheiser said. “He showed that this year in the WHL. We worked with him through the year on being multi-dimensional on both the offensive and defensive sides of his game.”

Lisowsky is focused on his skating right now and making sure he’s not in a position to be bumped off the puck by defensemen. He trusts the Leafs to help him realize his potential.

“I just love being here,” he said. “I love the development. This is the best development I’ve had. Coming back in the summer last year and training here, it’s an unbelievable spot. There’s so many great people to learn from here. I just love being here.”

“You get close to the players when you work with them through the years,” Wickenheiser said. “There is a lot of joy that goes with it and also some tough moments. We are trying to help him through it.”

Nanaimo Clippers defenseman Matt Lahey watched last month’s draft from his family home in Victoria, B.C.

“I knew it was not the end of the world if I didn’t get drafted,” the 17-year-old said. “But thankfully Toronto picked me, and I couldn’t be happier.”

The Leafs selected Lahey in the seventh round, 200th overall.

“I kind of blacked out a little bit,” Lahey admits. “I couldn’t really believe it at first, and then it kind of set in. Then I came to Toronto, and it’s an unbelievable feeling.”

The first day of development camp featured some golfing, a way for the players to get to know each other in a relaxed environment. It wasn’t so relaxing for Lahey, though, who found himself partnered with Leafs captain John Tavares.

“That was a really cool moment and kind of a welcome-to-the-NHL thing,” Lahey said with a smile. “I mean, he didn’t really seem real to me. You see him on TV and everything, but actually meeting him in person was pretty cool.”

What did they talk about?

“Honestly, he was just asking me about my season,” Lahey said. “You know, being a really good guy.”

Lahey produced 19 points in 54 games in the BCHL last season.

“My game grew the most last summer, actually, putting work in every day,” the 6-foot-5, 201-pound blueliner said. “As soon as I got to camp last season I kind of realized that I was used to the speed and could keep up with the older guys.”

He’ll look to accelerate his development next season with Fargo in the USHL. He’s committed to Clarkson University after that.

The experience at the development camp this week will help him build momentum. What’s he learned so far?

“So much. Too much to even say.”

As for the golf game with Tavares, Lahey notes he played alright despite feeling “pretty nervous.”

Lahey starts laughing when asked how Tavares played.

“I don’t want to say anything bad,” he said. “He’s a good golfer.”

McCue was glued to the television as the NHL draft entered the seventh round.

“My heart was pounding,” he said. “After an alright season, I was a little nervous there.”

Then his phone buzzed, and he looked down to see it was Leafs general manager Brad Treliving calling. The Leafs had selected McCue with the 216th pick in the 225-pick draft.

“I just saw the name and from there it was just smiles all day,” the 6-foot-2, 187-pound winger said. “I was lucky to get drafted, but being a seventh-rounder, I mean, nothing to lose and everything to prove. So, I got everything to prove here.”

One of McCue’s role models is fellow Sudbury, Ont. native Tyler Bertuzzi, who played last season with the Leafs.

“I try to play like him,” McCue said. “He’s fast and gets on the forecheck, hits guys and has a good stick. I like that style.”

Another player he watches a lot is Dallas Stars winger Mason Marchment.

After managing just one assist in 33 games with the Peterborough Petes in the 2022-23 season, McCue produced 37 points in 68 games split between Peterborough and Owen Sound last year.

“Just playing more and having more confidence,” he said. “Confidence is big. It’s not letting the puck bobble off your stick or going on the ice nervous and stuff like that.”