Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
“How are you, father Marry?”
That was the front Michael PezzettaMonday’s question at the team’s Calder Cup celebration, held at Toronto’s Real Sports Bar & Grill.
The Marlies answered a lot of questions this spring. They made it big with their impressive performance, showing that they were much more than the regular season’s fourth-placed team. But those questions will wait until training camp in September when these players – newly crowned – can show what they’ve got this time around.
Fresh off a postseason road trip that spanned nearly two months, 24 games, five rounds and several close calls, the Marlies were finally able to take a breather after hoisting the Calder Cup last Friday night. They reached the end of that road on the ice of the Coca-Cola Coliseum, eliminating the stubborn Chicago Wolves with a 4-3 victory in Game 5 of the Calder Cup Finals.
Monday gave them a chance to have fun with their fans at Real Sports, a hip nightclub near the Scotiabank Arena.
After enjoying all their runs, the captain Logan Shaw he returned the favor to the fans who were there.
“We want to applaud you guys,” said Shaw.
The work, lessons and confidence the Marlies can take from this championship run could see them swing as full-time NHLers. Year after year, the Maple Leafs have been investing heavily in making the Marlies a top-class performer on and off the ice. The Marlies’ playoff run has a chance to make that investment pay off big.
Start with the rookie forward Easton Cowanwho joined the Marlies after spending a season with the Leafs. He ended up tied for third place in the Calder Cup Playoffs scoring 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 22 games. Or a defender Ben Danforda 20-year-old from the Ontario Hockey League who jumped on time in the last three rounds and quickly looked the part of the pros. A fast rookie Landon Sim he brought the ability to disrupt opponents. Another rookie before, Luke Haymesyou handled the jump to playoff hockey well.
Then there is the goalkeeper Artur Akhtyamovwho took control of the team’s leading role early in the season and went on to win the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the most valuable player of the Calder Cup Playoffs. Akhtyamov, 24, finished 15-7 with a 2.22 goals-against average, .923 save percentage and two shutouts in 22 games — including 20 straight starts to end the postseason. There are more than a few who are hoping to strengthen their chances of getting a job next season with the Leafs.
But it’s not all wins and highs, especially for a team that finished fourth in the North Division at 36-26-5-5. Their .569 regular season hitting percentage was the lowest for a Calder Cup champion in 24 years. They reunited in the postseason, however, going 16-8. But even for a champion, the postseason brings a lot of disappointments, setbacks, and obstacles for the team to overcome.
“It was magic,” Shaw said.
The Marlies have won seven of nine games by one goal. Four times they survived the playoffs. Shaw and Cowan pulled off a third-period comeback in a Game 5 decider at Cleveland in the North Division Finals. They squeezed past the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the Eastern Conference finals; Pezzetta, who had five goals in 39 regular season games, came away with back-to-back game-winners while Cowan earned the lead in Game 4 and scored in both Games 5 and 6.
And then the Wolves probed, stressed and demanded more from the Marlies. Toronto won Game 1 with a goal and an empty netter. Chicago tied Game 2 with 16.7 seconds left before Shaw hit the overtime winner. Game 3 was a tough 1-0 battle that included 120 minutes of penalties awarded after the last game. And with the Calder Cup waiting to be clinched in Game 4, the Marlies couldn’t hold on to two goals in the third period and fell in OT.
The next night, however, they got the job done, fending off the last angry Wolves, and winning the franchise’s second championship in nine years.
The Marlies didn’t take the fast track to the Calder Cup. This life was a challenge. With those many wars, they grew too.
“Learning how to win” is a common theme in player development. However, the Marlies are learning how to win.
“I think he knows a big part of developing these young players and the prospects of that [the Leafs] teaching us how to win,” said Shaw, “and we did.”
Shaw and Pezzetta have contracts that run through the 2026-27 season. Some of these players, like Cowan, will be with the Leafs in the fall. Others will stay with the Marlies to take on bigger, different roles. And for some, a new NHL organization or international opportunities could be their break.
But no matter where on the hockey map their ambitions take them next, they’ll always have this tournament to tie them down. They will have the lessons of this time to bring with them.
“It’s something that I know none of us will ever forget,” said Pezzetta. “We are champions for life.”
In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
