Mike Babcock sold Morgan Rielly on the big picture of his own development. For two seasons that meant grunt work or rather, work that offered no statistical reward. The job description might well have read:



Embrace the most challenging minutes on the Maple Leafs defence



Shut down threatening forward lines fronted by threats like Sidney Crosby and Nikita Kucherov



Kill lots and lots of penalties



Accept little to no power play time



Above all, Babcock’s plan for development asked that Rielly sacrifice personal numbers (goals, assists and points) in service of a larger scheme, one that would, at least in theory, help Rielly evolve into a sturdier all-around defender – the No. 1 defender, perhaps, on a team with Stanley Cup visions.



The training ground is in some ways over.



Rielly is getting a regular spot back on the Toronto power play this season. The 23-year-old will join Jake Gardiner as one of two defenceman...