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The NHL lockout was bad news for the surplus deer population on Manitoulin Island.
It enabled Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle to join the annual November hunt for four days, a time of year he?s usually holding a hockey stick at practice instead of a rifle.
?There were a few we got,? Carlyle said Wednesday at Ricoh Coliseum, where he and assistant coach Dave Farrish watched the Toronto Marlies practice. ?I?ve been hunting a few times. That?s the first (deer hunt) I?ve done in a long time. It was very enjoyable .
?The activity was more about the camaraderie and being out with friends and neighbours I had grown up with. (Carlyle has a summer cottage on the island.) It?s nice to be able to go, but nice to be able to come back here, too.?
Carlyle and his assistants were eagerly scrutinizing the Marlies? games and their workouts, but the farm team?s heavy road schedule this month gave the staff some down time. Now, with cautious optimism that there could yet be NHL hockey by December or January, Carlyle is going to be more of a fixture around Ricoh in coming weeks.
?We were all ready to go,? Carlyle lamented of the lockout derailing plans for his first training camp as Leafs coach. ?Now we try to have a presence here. If I?m not here, than Dave Farrish or Scott Gordon and Greg Cronin are going to be. Now that (the team is back) you?ll see a lot more of us. I might go on the road to Rochester for Friday?s game or watch a junior game.?
Farrish joined Carlyle in the stands on Wednesday, while new Leafs goaltending instructor Rick St. Croix was on the ice. The Marlies have three netminders ? Ben Scrivens, the injured Jussi Rynnas, and current back-up Mark Owuya. New skating coach Barb Underhill was also at centre ice in the lower bowl, watching the players while comparing computer video of the individuals? footwork.
Among the potential Leafs Carlyle is keeping tabs on is Scrivens, who could either back up James Reimer or challenge him as starter, if general manager Brian Burke does not land a veteran. Scrivens was the AHL?s best statistical goalie last year and while his numbers haven?t dipped too much, he certainly hasn?t stolen many games thus far.
The Marlies? record is 9-8-0-1 heading into three weekend games.
?Scrivens hasn?t returned to the form he had last year,? Carlyle said. ?But he?s a quality goaltender and you can see it in his work ethic and his approach. We have to continue to work with him to get him back to the way he?s capable of playing.?
Carlyle intends to make the Leafs tougher than predecessor Ron Wilson without sacrificing offence. To that end, he and Burke have to be ecstatic that winger Matt Frattin has come back from shoulder surgery with five goals in his first five games.
?He has worked very hard in his recovery and has a history of being an offensive player,? Carlyle said. ?It?s good to see he?s scoring here, but it?s been short term. The NHL is a different grind. The one thing he has to be up there is as consistent as he has been down here. That?s what our expectations are up top.
?He played that way in the AHL playoffs (10 goals, 13 points in 13 games) before he was hurt. He was a physical force on the ice and you noticed him out there in those key areas on the ice.?
Carlyle has also found few faults with defenceman Jake Gardiner?s game in the minors, pleased that he has been able to keep busy after a strong first year with the Leafs.
?He hasn?t changed anything,? Carlyle said. ?Certainly he?s bigger and stronger. He has fit right in here. He hasn?t sat around just waiting for the NHL to start. I?m sure there?s a lot of players in that mode who can?t wait for the NHL to start. But he?s not fazed by that (delay). He?s played very well here. It?s a good sign.?
Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2012/11/28/leafs-coach-carlyle-has-sights-fixed-on-marlies
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