Hakanpää takes part in the Leafs’ training for the first time

Jani Hakanpää practiced with the Leafs for the first time on Wednesday.

“It’s definitely been a long time coming,” said the 1.90 meter tall and 100 kilogram defender. “I worked a lot to get here, so it was a lot of fun.”

He was hard to miss.

“He’s really big,” center Auston Matthews said. “Of course it’s a different animal with the skates too.”

“Obviously a very big man out there,” winger Mitch Marner said. “Great stick, great length, he could skate very well, so he looked good out there today.”

Hakanpää is recovering from a knee injury. It remains unclear when he will be ready to return to action.

“That’s a tough question,” admitted head coach Craig Berube. “I can’t really answer that question at the moment. We’ll have to wait and see. We still have a little time and we’ll see where he goes and where he stands. He has to be comfortable with coming in there and playing a part in the game.”

The Leafs will wrap up their preseason with games on Thursday and Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings. The regular season opener takes place next Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens.

Hakanpää has not played since March 16th.

“At the moment it’s just taking it day by day,” said the 32-year-old righty. “We’re trying to do everything we can and then hopefully sooner rather than later.”

Hakanpää had skated in a red non-contact sweater during training camp, but changed into a regular white sweater for training on Wednesday.

“This was kind of the first test to see where we were,” he said. “We’ll see where we are tomorrow morning and go from there. It’s actually saying, ‘See how you feel every day’ and then we’ll make adjustments if we need to, but hopefully we don’t and we can move on from here.”

On July 1, TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston reported that Hakanpää had agreed to a two-year deal with the Leafs. However, no official contract with the league was registered, which raised questions about Hakanpää’s health. When the deal was finally announced in September, it ended up being a one-year deal.

If Hakanpää can get back to his top level, the Leafs feel he can bring a lot to their blueline.

“He’s not even ready yet, but he just finishes his plays with his range,” Berube noted. “He was a really good penalty killer in this league. It’s hard to play against him.”

The Leafs finished 23rd in penalty kills last season. Hakanpää was instrumental in the Dallas Stars’ penalty shootout, which finished eighth overall.

“He knows how to use his body,” Marner said. “Knows how to get into the shooting lane, knows how to get into the passing lane. Obviously with the range he has with that bat, he can really break up a lot of plays.”

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This week’s team bonding trip to cottage country reminded Hakanpää of his native Finland.

“We drove up on the bus and when we got here I thought, ‘This is like home,'” he said. So it’s been a really fun few days up here. At home it’s probably not that much rock, but [there’s] Lakes. Yesterday we went to the sauna and jumped into the lake and back. I love this. It is so good for the body and mind. So that was unreal.

The Leafs played a round of golf on Tuesday. The group, which included William Nylander, Max Domi, Joseph Woll and Nikita Grebenkin, prevailed. Marner played in a group with Chris Tanev, Bobby McMann and David Kampf.

“Davvy doesn’t play much or ever golf in the summer,” Marner said with a smile. “He hit some huge putts for us. He hit a 30-foot putt that we hit extremely hard in front of people. So all in all it was a great day.”

The trip concluded with practice on Wednesday, where approximately 800 children filled the stands at the brand new Muskoka Lumber Community Center.

“It was great to have the fans,” Berube said. “A little motivation for the boys.”

Marner got the kids going after Toronto’s best power play unit scored a goal.

“A lot of energy,” Marner said. “They won’t stop screaming, so you will too.” [having] Have fun out there, enjoy it and just take it all with you.”

Most of the practice focused on the work of special teams. New assistant coach Marc Savard oversees the power play. Savard scored 292 power play points during his 807-game NHL career.

“He had a great career,” said Matthews, who led the Leafs with 18 power-play goals last season. “I think you always have a lot of respect for guys like that and the way he thinks about the game. He communicates a lot. He’s extremely talkative, but I think in a good way. He wants to know what’s going on outside.” Whether it’s the power play, 5-on-5 or whatever. He had a great career and a really smart hockey mind.

The coaching staff understands that Toronto’s top team – Morgan Rielly with Matthews, Marner, Nylander and John Tavares – has achieved great success over the years, particularly in the regular season. Of course, Savard will still make some changes.

“I think he’s going to help us a lot with our breakouts and getting into the zone cleanly,” said winger Matthews Knies, who worked with the second unit on Wednesday. “We have a lot of talented players on the ice that can make plays, but I think he will elevate their games and make them a lot better.”

The Leafs ranked seventh overall in power play percentage last season before converting 21 chances just once in a seven-game playoff series against the Boston Bruins.

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Grebenkin is only 21 years old and is still learning English, but the KHL import is making a positive impression at this camp.

“Grebenkin is a funny guy,” Berube said with a laugh. “He’s quite a character, this boy. You know, he has a really bright future in this league puck skills and strength and skating, but off the ice he’s a real character, a pretty fun guy, I really enjoyed being around him.

The 1.90 meter tall, 75 kilogram winger has not given any interviews yet, but he is making his presence clear. In his first-ever NHL preseason game, the fifth-round pick of the 2022 draft dropped the gloves with Ottawa’s Adam Gaudette and gestured to the crowd on his way to the penalty box.

“Definitely not shy, which I think you appreciate,” Matthews said. “Really good player too. I think a lot of us maybe weren’t surprised, but he definitely opened a lot of guys’ eyes to how good he is and how big and strong he is on the ice. “Ice, he’s a lot of fun to be around to be, he likes to joke.

Grebenkin, who helped Magnitogorsk Metallurg win a championship last season, plans to start the season in the American Hockey League but is positioning himself as one of the first players if the team needs a forward.

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After finishing last season on separate lines, Matthews and Marner have been running together on the top line since the opening of training camp.

“They have been working together very well for a long time,” said Berube. “They definitely have great chemistry. They know where they stand. This is a big deal.”

Berube compares it to what he saw in St. Louis with Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron.

“We have had a great bond since day one,” Marner said. “We have a damn good relationship. We communicate very clearly about how we want each other to play and behave.”

Matthews and Marner begin their ninth season in Toronto.

“It’s definitely something special,” remarked Hakanpää. “You can just tell. You can see how they find each other on the ice. I’ve only been here a short time, but I feel like they have something special off the ice, that connection.”

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The dynamic is a little different for the two starters this season. This will be Matthews’ first time as captain.

“He doesn’t look like he’s under pressure or anything,” Marner said. “This is what you want. He’s happy to be the captain of this team and it hasn’t weighed on him at all or, you know, weighed him down. So this is something that you like to see and something that you know our entire team is. I really have to represent.

When the Leafs’ roster was read to fans at practice on Wednesday, Matthews was at the bottom of the list and was introduced as captain.

“Honestly, it doesn’t feel all that different,” the Arizona native said. “I think it’s probably more symbolic than anything else. When you come to camp every year, I think you just try to get better and develop and then progress in different areas, whether it’s on the ice or off the ice.”

The dynamic is also different for Marner, who is entering the final season of his current contract.

“He came into camp very focused,” Matthews said. “He looks good. Obviously very motivated. I think that’s all of them.” [motivated] come in here.

ContentId(1.2182722): Marner on Matthews: “He doesn’t look like he’s under pressure”

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Connor Dewar trained in a regular sweater on Wednesday. The striker, who underwent shoulder surgery during the offseason, had previously skated in a red non-contact sweater.

Veteran forwards Tavares and Calle Jarnkrok returned to full training for the first time since suffering lower-body injuries.

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Special teams units at practice on Wednesday:

PP1

Rielly, Matthews, Marner, Tavares, Nylander

PP2

Ekman-Larsson, Domi, Robertson, Pacioretty, Knies

Cowan turned in

5 against 3

Matthews, Marner, Tavares, Nylander, Domi

Defense pairs at training on Wednesday:

Rielly-Tanev
Ekman-Larsson-McCabe
Benoit-Timmins
Rifai-Liljegren
Hakanpää

The team did not have full offensive line practices on Wednesday.