Frank Seravalli TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Follow|Archive

Ken Hitchcock raised eyebrows Saturday when he said Mike Babcock’s Maple Leafs “wear blue and white, but they all play like they’re wearing red and white” of his former team, the Detroit Red Wings.

Babcock’s early impact in Toronto may be most evident in James van Riemsdyk, who said Sunday he’s playing the best hockey of his career.

Van Riemsdyk has 22 points in his last 24 games. He is on pace for 31 goals and 31 assists. And he can set a career-best point streak (seven games) on Wednesday night in Anaheim - all without Phil Kessel.

“There’s just a general good feel,” van Riemsdyk said from California. “And I think the overall feel in Toronto is as good as it’s been since I’ve been here.”

During van Riemsdyk’s first three seasons in Toronto, the Leafs generated just 45.2 per cent of shot attempts while he was on the ice. In 37 games under Babcock, the Leafs have controlled 56.4 per cent of shot attempts with van Riemsdyk on the ice, one indicator of puck possession.

“With the structure implemented, it is crystal clear how we are supposed to play,” van Riemsdyk said. “I think it enables our individual talent to come out. Every player would say they like to have the puck more, they feel better about their game. For us, it’s a matter of how we get the puck more.”

So, how do the Leafs get the puck more under Babcock? Van Riemsdyk, who has 14 goals and 14 assists in 37 games overall, said Babcock is “really organized."

“We’re supporting the puck all over the ice,” van Riemsdyk said. “We get the ‘D’ into the rush as much as possible. And when we don’t have the puck, we track back to the try and pressure and get it back.”

Those close to van Riemsdyk say there’s also been a quiet maturity to his overall approach. Fairly or unfairly, van Riemsdyk arrived in Toronto with his own reputation - that he was soft and even coddled.

A trade outside of the Pennsylvania-New Jersey bubble near his Middletown, N.J., hometown forced van Riemsdyk to be more independent. Now 26, age and experience have helped. He formulated his own attack with nutrition, sleep and routine - cobbled together with best practices learned from teammates, friends and experts.

Expectations and comparisons as the No. 2 pick behind Patrick Kane in 2007 were once overwhelming. He has since become his own man, his own player.

Over the past four seasons, only 15 players have more goals than van Riemsdyk’s 89. And Babcock believes van Riemsdyk has more to give.

“To me, he’s still got a lot left in the tank here,” Babcock told reporters Saturday. “He’s a young guy with a lot of upside, but can become more multi-dimensional as a player. He’s better defensively than he was. He competes hard. He’s at the net more than he was. He’s a good player.”

Why all 29 teams are interested in Tampa Bay’s Jonathan Drouin: Only a handful of forwards Drouin’s age have piled up more primary points (goal or first assist) per 60 minutes played at even-strength. They are Filip Forsberg, Nathan MacKinnon, Sean Monahan and Alex Galchenyuk. Drouin’s frustration is understandable: all four of those players are bonafide NHL stars or regulars on their team, not playing in the AHL. When Drouin hasn’t been a healthy scratch, he's averaged less than 11 minutes per game at even-strength - or significantly less opportunity than the others. The deeper look at his primary points paint Drouin in elite company, differently than his six goals and 34 assists in 89 games might otherwise. The complaint from the Lightning, though, has to be that youngsters such as Leon Draisaitl and David Pastrnak haven’t requested trades when they’ve been demoted:

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Lightning GM Steve Yzerman acknowledged Drouin’s public trade request with a strong statement. Yzerman said his “sole intention is to act in the best interest of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey club.” Translation: “I’m not going to acquiesce to any request or demand unless it makes the Lightning better.” Going public with the request was an interesting play by Drouin’s camp. It’s not as if Yzerman is uncomfortable with his back against the wall. In 2014, Martin St. Louis said he would only accept a trade to the New York Rangers. Yzerman waited until the final few hours of deadline day before sending St. Louis to New York for Ryan Callahan, two first-round picks and a seventh-rounder. Yzerman has all the leverage with the 20-year-old; the GM has control of Drouin’s contractual destiny for five more seasons.

There was considerable backlash over the Vancouver Province’s Sunday back page, which labeled Canucks’ forward Jake Virtanen the “Goat-medal winner.” Did it cross the line? Probably. Should Team Canada teenagers somehow be immune to criticism? Absolutely not, simply on the basis that the World Juniors is not an amateur tournament. As someone who worked for a snarky tabloid known for pushing the envelope, this reminded me of a rule an editor once gave for printing criticism of athletes: “High School: Never. College: Sometimes. Professional: Any time.” Team Canada crossed that threshold with 18 players signed to NHL entry-level contracts. Its collective NHL salary cap hits totaled $23.4 million, nearly the combined amount of five other heavyweight tournament competitors: Sweden ($6.2 million), USA ($5.8 million), Czech Republic ($5 million), Russia ($4.4 million), and Finland ($4 million). The costly undisciplined play of Virtanen, 19, was fair game. It just could’ve been presented in a manner by the Province that didn’t seem so personal.

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Finland’s Olli Juolevi is one prospect whose stock in the 2016 Entry Draft skyrocketed at the World Junior Championship. Juolevi, 17, has now firmly planted himself in the conversation for the draft’s top defenceman. The London Knight leads all defencemen in tournament scoring with nine assists in five games heading into Monday’s semi-final against archrival Sweden. Juolevi has more points than so far two Top 10 picks from last spring: Zach Werenski (Columbus) and Ivan Provorov (Philadelphia). Juolevi was ranked No. 13 in Bob McKenzie’s pre-season scouting rankings. Our TSN director of scouting Craig Button said Sunday that Juolevi may have pushed himself closer to the Top 5.

Three other names to remember: Sweden’s Rasmus Asplund and Russia’s Alexander Polunin and Andrei Kuzmenko. The draft-eligible Asplund has capably filled the void left by injured Leafs prospect William Nylander, chipping in two goals and two assists in five games for Tre Kronor. Button said he now sees Asplund anywhere from No. 25 to 40, after originally slotting Asplund around No. 50. Polunin and Kuzmenko are different stories – two forwards already passed over in the draft. If they go undrafted again this year, Polunin and Kuzmenko could eventually make it to the NHL via the Artemi Panarin route. Kuzmenko, 19, plays for CSKA Moscow in the KHL. He doesn’t have a point in five games, but he is second on Team Russia in shots (11). Polunin, 18, has three goals in five tournament contests. He is a member of the KHL’s Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. Panarin went undrafted, posted similar totals at the 2011 World Junior tournament, and eventually grew to be a KHL star before signing with Chicago last summer.

Former NHLPA executive director Paul Kelly filed a motion in Los Angeles Superior Court on Dec. 24 to serve as counsel for Claude Lemieux and Swiss-based 4Sports Group in the legal battle against player agent and former partner Ritch Winter. Kelly will represent Lemieux along with former MLB player agent Gregg Clifton. At the heart of the suit is Winter’s allegation that Lemieux bad-mouthed and discouraged NHL players from using Winter as their agent while Lemieux secretly attempted to negotiate contracts with teams on their behalf. Their dispute has left Anaheim’s Frederik Andersen and Hampus Lindholm, 4Sports Group clients when Winter and Lemieux were partners and pending free agents, in the crosshairs. Kelly’s recent involvement drew the attention of industry sources, who suggested Kelly took the case as a form of personal payback to Winter. It was reported Winter was one of the key players pushing behind the scenes of Kelly’s ouster from the NHLPA in 2009. When reached Monday, Kelly called that notion “ludicrous,” saying feelings play “no role whatsoever” in his involvement and he doesn’t “feel any personal vendetta toward Mr. Winter.” While this plays out in court, Lemieux has interim agent status with the NHLPA, and can officially negotiate with the Ducks if necessary. Kelly said Winter’s claims in the suit have “no merit” and 4Sports will file a response in court later this month. Stay tuned.

Why are teams passing on waiver claims to then express interest in trading for the same player later, like the Oilers did with Zack Kassian? Since more than half the NHL (16 teams) are within three of the 50-contract limit, according to GeneralFanager.com, few want to bring in a contract without giving one up. There is interest in Philadelphia’s Sam Gagner. As Arizona GM Don Maloney said last year: Gagner is better suited on the wing. His career 45.2 face-off percentage is just one reason why. But since breaking in with Edmonton as an 18-year-old in 2007, only 83 active players have averaged more than the 0.58 points-per-game Gagner has produced (341 points in 580 games), according to hockey-reference.com. Gagner, 26, played the first AHL games of his career over the weekend in Lehigh Valley. Tampa Bay already retains $1.6 million of Gagner’s $4.8 million cap hit. The Flyers can retain a maximum of $800,000 more, with numerous playoff teams being interested in Gagner at a prorated $2.4 million salary cap hit. He makes perfect sense in a place like Nashville.

All-Star weekend in Nashville will be an emotional homecoming for Barry Trotz. Washington has clinched the best points percentage in the Metropolitan Division through Jan. 9, the official midway point of the season, so Trotz, who coached the Predators for 15 seasons, will be back behind the bench at Bridgestone Arena. There will be no shortage of strong media material from coaches in Nashville, with two other coaching positions also determined in Dallas’ Lindy Ruff (Central) and Los Angeles’ Darryl Sutter (Pacific). Florida’s Gerard Gallant will represent the Atlantic if the Panthers pick up at least one point through Tuesday or Thursday. The final 40 players, as chosen by the NHL’s hockey operations department, will be announced on Wednesday.

Don’t look now, but Anaheim Ducks awoke Monday in a playoff spot for the first time this season. The Ducks are riding a six-game point streak, but coach Bruce Boudreau warned Sunday night’s win over Winnipeg: “We’re not out of the woods yet, but we’re certainly playing better.” Anaheim is home for the next seven games.

Cheers to outgoing NHL officials Rob Martell and Mike Cvik, both of whom are retiring midway through this season. Martell, 52, refereed his 1,000th and final NHL game on Saturday night in Tampa Bay. The NHL allows officials to choose their crew and assignment for milestone and final games; Martell picked referee Dan O’Halloran and linesmen Brian Mach and Andy McElman to share in his 20-year curtain call. Cvik, 53, debuted as an NHL linesman on Oct. 8, 1987 in Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum, making him the league’s second-longest tenured on-ice official. Sunday marked the 1,863rd game for the only official as big as Zdeno Chara (6-foot-9). That’s a lot of miles in a cramped airline seat. All the best in your next adventure, gentlemen.

Frank Seravalli can be reached at frank.seravalli@bellmedia.ca.