Last season, Jeremy Bracco was forced to sit and watch all but four of the Toronto Marlies’ playoff games as they went on to win the team’s first-ever Calder Cup. After every game, his routine was the same – he’d call his childhood best friend.



“Last year he struggled a bit … he just didn’t get to play in the playoffs,” said Joseph Duszak, Bracco’s longtime friend. “I knew that hurt him a lot, so we would FaceTime every day over the playoffs.”



This year, though, things are different. Instead of having to use FaceTime, Bracco and Duszak can talk face-to-face after Duszak signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Leafs in March. And instead of being a healthy scratch, Bracco has become the driving force of the Marlies’ offence and a big reason the team has swept the first two rounds of the Calder Cup playoffs.



The Leafs’ second-round pick – 61st overall – in the...