Overlooked and under-utilized in Toronto, Josh Leivo waited for his chance.



And waited. And waited.



Even as he was shifted around, on paper and in between the rinks at Exhibition and Union GO Transit stations, Leivo kept grinding and learning. He signed a team-friendly contract extension to avoid being a Group 6 player.



He wanted it to work.



It never did, not in Toronto anyway, but Leivo’s time wasn’t wasted.



The big right-handed winger wasn’t often in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup, but he worked hard to improve. He had a chance to play on his off-wing in the American League and perfected it to the point where he’s more comfortable supporting the breakout on the left side of the ice.



He used his time in the press box to watch some of Toronto’s more established forwards, players like James van Riemsdyk. He tried to incorporate some of what worked for them into his game.



In the summers,...