TORONTO – It was the day Kasperi Kapanen had dreamed of. On Feb. 29, he was called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs alongside fellow Marlies William Nylander, Zach Hyman and Nikita Soshnikov. All four made their NHL debut that night.

But while Nylander, Hyman and Soshnikov remain with the Leafs, Kapanen was sent back down to the AHL after four games. His demotion made room for Milan Michalek, who returned from a broken finger making his Toronto debut on March 7.

Kapanen has struggled since returning to the first-place Marlies putting up a goal and two assists in eight games. Head coach Sheldon Keefe describes Kapanen's play as "inconsistent" during this stretch. Kapanen had posted 12 points in the 14 games immediately preceding his NHL debut.

"It's been tough, to be honest," the 19-year-old admits. "I thought I played really well the four games. I was riding the high there, being with the boys and living the dream, but they sent me down and that's something I have to live with. After that it's been a bit of struggle to get back to my own game. There's still games left in the season and I just have to pick it up and start playing better."

Kapanen leaned on his father, former NHLer Sami Kapanen, for support in the aftermath of his demotion.

"After I got set down he said to hold my head high and it's life. It's happened to him before and you got to get used to it and there's always next year and I'm really excited for that too."

But Kapanen finds it hard to get over one nagging question: Why me? Why did I get sent down? This question has been like a pinball in his head as he's watched fellow Marlies forwards like Frederik Gauthier, Connor Brown and Josh Leivo get called up on an emergency basis in recent weeks.

"I'd love to know myself, but I guess this is how the world works sometimes, they just send people down. Older guys were getting healthy so I guess they just got to send somebody down and it happened to be me. Looking at the other three guys who have still been playing up there, they're playing really well so I guess it was the right choice."

Kapanen is fighting to get back on track and Saturday afternoon was a step forward according to Keefe as the Finn fired four shots on net and posted a plus-two rating in a 5-3 Marlies win over the St. John's IceCaps at the Air Canada Centre.

"He's had some shifts and some games where he's been terrific and other shifts and other games where it's a little bit inconsistent with his impact on the game," Keefe said in assessing Kapanen's play since his return to the AHL. "We think he has the ability to impact a shift whether it's offensively or defensively, every shift, because of his speed. We want him to be able to do that all the time and make an impact in 200 feet of the ice."

While Kapanen's NHL taste was brief, he learned a lot. What stood out the most?

"Every night it's 100 per cent. If you don't play well then you're not going to play," Kapanen said. "The players are so smart. They're not just big and strong. They think about the game. You have to be in the right spots at the right time and that's what we're trying to do down here. I've been struggling, but I know the points will come and I'm just trying to play well defensively and help my team win."

The Marlies have been dominating the AHL all season. Despite losing a good chunk of their team to the Leafs, they remain comfortably atop the standings 12 points clear of the next closest competitor. A long playoff run is expected and it's something that can help Kapanen build momentum heading into a crucial summer for his development.

"We got the guys who will be coming down from the Leafs, but it doesn't mean they're going to do all the work and we're not going to have to do anything," Kapanen said. "If all four lines play the way they've been playing this season then we'll have a good shot."