TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs had six NHL rookies on their opening night roster this season, but one standout young player from training camp failed to make the cut - right winger Kasperi Kapanen.

Kapanen tallied three points (two goals, one assist) in five preseason contests, second in rookie scoring to Mitch Marner and William Nylander (four points). But when Toronto reduced its roster a final time on Oct. 9, Kapanen was reassigned to the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies.

“It’s obviously sad to get sent down like that again. But it’s just more motivation for me,” Kapanen said after practice last week. “It was a good camp. I had a good time, I played well. I want to try everything I can to get up [to the NHL] one day.”

He's off to a good start. Paired with Frederik Gauthier and Nikita Soshnikov, Kapanen scored five points in the Marlies’ first two games, earning AHL Player of the Week honours. Kapanen has added to the total since - his seven points (three goals, four assists) is second on the team to Brendan Leipsic’s nine.

“It’s just one of those starts where it seems like the game feels really good and when I have the puck on my stick, I feel like something is happening,” Kapanen said. “Confidence is good obviously. It’s key in this sport. Sometimes you play badly and you have to bounce back and that’s something I’m trying to improve day by day.”

Kapanen has come a long way since he was a healthy scratch for the Marlies' first playoff game in April. That experience was a turning point for the 20-year-old, who returned to the lineup the next game and has been a different player ever since.

“When our playoffs ended last year, of all the guys we talked about, who grew the most or who were we most happy with, I’d have to say [it was] the growth of Kasperi Kapanen through the playoffs,” said Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe. “His maturity, going from being a healthy scratch in Game 1, all the way through to being a guy who’s a real difference-maker in Game 7 against Albany [a 4-3 Marlies win] and had a good series against [the] Hershey [Bears]. He’s carried that right through.”

“There’s two options,” Kapanen said of facing adversity. “You can quit and just not try and that’s when you’re not going to play for sure. The other is just, keep working hard. They played one game and put me in for the next one and after that I decided if I played well enough they’d have to keep me in there.”

Kapanen played in the remaining 14 post-season games, grabbing three goals and five assists. The challenge now for Keefe and company is to give Kapanen the most well-rounded game possible. Although it’s only his second year in the AHL, Kapanen admits he feels somewhere in between a young player and a veteran, itching to use his experience at the next level. Keefe decided to start putting Kapanen on the penalty kill, something Kapanen said he’s “never done in my life” but where he sees how his speed could be used to advantage.

“Defensively there’s a lot of things we want to key on with him,” Keefe said. “We think he can be a really good penalty killer in the NHL. He got a taste of it with the Leafs in training camp and they were happy with him there so we’ll continue to give him the reps at this level.”

Just don’t expect Kapanen to take his foot off the gas offensively. Like everyone else, he’s watched his former teammates get off to good starts with the Maple Leafs. Reflecting on what it will take for him to join them sooner than later, Kapanen offers a knowing smile and simple strategy.

“Keep going,” he said. “Light it up.”