The Toronto Marlies are closing in on a club record — 50 wins — but head coach Sheldon Keefe isn’t exactly celebrating.



“Nothing I think about,” says Keefe, of reaching the milestone. “It’s news to me [that the club even has 40 wins].”



Instead of chasing a number of victories, Keefe instead has his team playing toward a common goal. “Players recognize that if they come to work every day and work hard,” he says, “the opportunity [with the Leafs] will be there for them.”



Getting the call

This season, many Marlies have gone up to the big club and taken advantage of their opportunity. Winger Josh Leivo was a point-a-game player with the Marlies, earned a call-up, then scored in four consecutive games with the Leafs. Forward Brendan Leipsic has been in the Toronto organization a little more than a year after a trade with the Nashville Predators. He developed enough in that time to earn a recall to the Leafs, scoring in his first game on Hockey Night in Canada against the Vancouver Canucks.



“I was just trying to be a sponge the couple days with the Leafs and take everything in,” says Leipsic. “I was lucky enough to get a goal and left there with a good feeling.” The good feeling remained when Leipsic returned to the Marlies, and he soon found himself back in the Leafs roster.



A team effort

The success stories go beyond Leipsic and Leivo.

Generally considered the Leafs’ top prospect, William Nylander is a highlight of the Marlies lineup. Averaging more than a point a game while still a teenager, the Swede has garnered plenty of attention since coming to Toronto to begin his AHL career last January.



Nylander is not the only 19-year-old on Keefe’s roster. Kasperi Kapanen, a Finn, is 84 days younger than Nylander. Marlies GM Kyle Dubas is effusive in his praise of both his young charges.

“Everyone noticed Kasperi Kapanen because of the World Juniors,” says Dubas, of the young winger’s dramatic winning goal in overtime. “But what was less noticed was how well he had played for us, overcoming an injury [in November] and playing as one of the youngest guys in the league.”

Among veteran players, T.J. Brennan, Mark Arcobello and Rich Clune have between them more than 300 NHL games. They often set the tone on both the scoresheet and in the locker room — Brennan is among the AHL scoring leaders, an incredible accomplishment for a defenceman.



Making their mark

Young guns are drawing attention throughout the team’s roster, starting with a pair of 23-year-olds: Brett Findlay, an undrafted player out of junior hockey, is in his third season of professional hockey and is blossoming, playing top-six minutes as a centre on the Marlies second line. Torontonian Zach Hyman is in his first pro season after playing at the University of Michigan and, Dubas says, has been the Marlies most consistent forward this season.



Winger Tobias Lindberg was acquired from the Binghamton Senators in the trade that sent former Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf to Ottawa. After some initial adjustment to his new team, he’s shown the form that helped the Oshawa Generals win the Memorial Cup last spring, shutting down Erie Otters phenom and current Edmonton Oilers rookie Connor McDavid in the OHL Championship Series along the way.



On defence, Viktor Loov and Stuart Percy have been steady, both earning call-ups to the Leafs as a reward for their strong play. Loov, in particular, has impressed Keefe.

“He can close when the opposition has the puck really quickly,” Keefe says. “And now he’s shown more confidence and real consistency in making plays.”



Such confidence and consistency are contagious up and down the Marlies lineup.