A pair of new faces were on the ice at Marlies practice this week after forwards Martins Dzierkals and Jean Dupuy were recalled from the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL on Tuesday.

The two forwards, both of whom were signed by the Marlies this summer, have had productive starts to the season in Florida. Dupuy scored seven goals and 19 points in 24 games while Dzierkals has six goals and 13 points in 15 games with the Solar Bears.

Now with a call up to the Marlies, they’ll look to continue building on the early season success.

“I think the game up here is a little faster, everybody’s more engaged,” said Dupuy of the difference between the AHL and ECHL. “Down there, you have to go hard, there’s no easy game. The road trips make it hard. But you have to adapt and be ready to play.”

Now that they’ve spent some time on the ice, both players are looking to make an impact on a Marlies team that’s currently on a four-game winning streak.

“I’m really excited to be here,” Dzierkals said. “That’s my goal to be here as much as I can, and do everything to be here and play games here. The guys are good, I had two practices right now and it was a pretty fast tempo, and I like it.”

“It’s very upbeat, this team’s having fun, it’s a winning group here,” Dupuy added. “It’s good to be a part of it.”

It was a busy Wednesday at the Mastercard Centre for Hockey Excellence, as the Marlies participated in a full practice as well as personal development drills with the Maple Leafs development staff. For a young player in his first professional season like Dzierkals, those resources can play an important part of gaining skills to excel at a new level.

“They always teach me something new,” Dzierkals said. “I think when I was with the skill guys before I went to the east coast, they helped me with the game a lot. And I’m able to use those things in a game, which is big.”

A major benefit for the Marlies staff is the strong relationship they have with Orlando. Head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke about the strong feeder system the Marlies can call on, while pointing to other young players, like Mason Marchment and Kasimir Kaskisuo, who developed there before making their presence known at the AHL level.

Dupuy’s recall also represents a reunion with Keefe, as Dupuy played major junior hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds while Keefe was bench boss there. He’s well-known with the Marlies staff after spening the past two seasons with the Rochester Americans.

For Dzierkals, who’s getting his first taste of the AHL, he’s looking to use his speed to compliment the Marlies offense.

“I’m trying to work hard every game,” he said. “I think I’m a fast player, so I can make space for myself and my teammates. That’s what I’m trying to do, make some plays and make dangerous scoring opportunities.”

It’s fun to be on a line with him,” Dupuy said of Dzierkals when asked about their time in Orlando. “He’s great at creating plays, great with the puck and great at finding the open guy.”

Both players will hope to slot into the Marlies lineup this weekend, which features a busy and difficult three games against two of the league’s top teams of late. The Marlies travel to Rochester (14-5-3-3) for their first game against the Amerks this season before returning to Ricoh Coliseum for a pair of games against the Manitoba Moose (18-5-1-2). Rochester haven’t had a regulation loss in nine games, while the Moose haven’t lost in regulation in their past 11 contests.

Tickets for the games against Manitoba are still available or fans will be able to tune in on Leafs Nation Network.