TORONTO — The first obstacle the Maple Leafs have to overcome at training camp will be overconfidence.

Born of a strong showing in 2016-17, an unexpected playoff appearance, a raft of rookie scoring records and personal bests by others, the Leafs will enter camp in a few weeks with something of a swagger. Just don’t get too far ahead of yourself, advises village elder James van Riemsdyk.

“We had guys who played great last year,” the 28-year-old left winger conceded Tuesday as he joined the team’s summer workouts, “but when you lose in the playoffs, you have to improve. You can’t be content because things are always changing. If you get content, then you’re not looking far enough ahead about what we can do as a whole and you don’t keep taking those steps forward.”

Van Riemsdyk is one of a few survivors of the 2013 underdog team that also made it to playoffs, flirted with winning their lone series, but lost and couldn’t repeat the next spring. That was the start of an ugly break up.

That team did not have youth on its side as today, leading some to suggest the Leafs should accelerate their Shanaplan while Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander are on the low side of the wage scale. But the NHL is just as unforgiving as ever, as the long line of good teams who missed last spring’s tournament will attest.

“It’s no secret that we have some guys on their entry-level deals which gives us a unique opportunity,” JVR said. “It’s Year 2 for some guys and lots of them had really good seasons, not just the first-year guys but different ones throughout the lineup. Again, you have to be prepared to do the same work, the same mindset that led to success last year so you can have an even better year. We know we have to put the work in, but if we do, we’re going to have some good things ahead of us.”

SWEET SCORING POTENTIAL

Maybe the Leafs should look into a promo deal with M&M’s candies if Matthews, Marner and Patrick Marleau proliferate the score sheet as many believe they will.

Van Riemsdyk has been the Leafs’ left-side anchor for many years, one shy of his career-high 62 points last year when Marner was plugged in with himself and centre Tyler Bozak. Marleau is expected to be Matthews’ winger with Nylander on the right. Marleau’s arrival is generating the most buzz in the dressing room and around town.

“His numbers and resume speaks for itself,” van Riemsdyk said. “You add a guy like that it makes your team better instantly. I think he’ll help us in a lot of different ways.

“Who knows what the lines will shape up to be? When you have good enough options, things will shake themselves out.

“With someone such as Mitch, who got to be such a smart player, the more experience he has the better he is going to be. We’ve seen all the tools and ability he has and at the end of the day, it will be exciting to see all those guys grow in Year 2.”

REMEMBER SOSH?

For the second straight year, Nikita Soshnikov is an early arrival for summer workouts, hoping this will be his time.

The feisty Russian right winger, who signed an entry-level deal in the summer of 2015, had five points in 11 games that year, but was slowed by a lower-body injury. He kept working through it all last summer and made it into 56 games, mostly on the fourth line with some penalty-killing duty, getting nine points.

He was pushed to the sidelines by injuries and Kaspari Kapanen, who is bigger, has more of a scoring touch and likely has the inside track on that fourth-line role to start the year.

“We can talk about luck, but preparation is the key I think,” Soshnikov said. “The better you prepare, the less injuries you will have. This season, I’m just trying to fix some things, work on skills, skating, strength, everything.”

The 24-year-old is on his last year of the entry contract and believes if all things are equal at camp, he can retain a role.

“It’s going to be a really good team this year and I want to be part of it.”

ROMAN READY TO PLAY

Roman Polak will play in the NHL again says his agent, it just likely won’t be in Toronto.

The rugged defenceman, who suffered that grisly broken fibula during the Washington series, “is skating and should be cleared for all purposes soon,” Allan Walsh told the Toronto Sun in an e-mail. “I expect he will be signing with an NHL team in the near term.”

Walsh then posted video of the 31-year-old Czech UFA — in Leafs colours — looking quite fit in skating drills.

LOOSE LEAFS

Defenceman Jason Demers joked it’s bad timing that he departed the San Jose Sharks for the Eastern-based Florida Panthers last year and must face old teammate Marleau. “It’s gonna suck because now I’ve got to defend him more than twice a year,” Demers said ... Forward Jeremy Bracco has been chosen Leafs rep at the NHL Players Association Rookie Showcase on Monday at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Twenty five top prospects, including Alex DeBrincat (Chicago), Cody Glass (Las Vegas) and Charlie McAvoy (Boston) will get their hockey card photos and video taken by Upper Deck ... Dave Creighton, whose 615 NHL games included time with the Leafs up to 1959-60, has passed away at 87. The centre was the father of NHL player and current Boston scout Adam Creighton.

lhornby@postmedia.com