First Maple Leafs camp under Craig Berube gets intense early

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Thunderclaps along the boards as bodies collided, enthusiastic shouts and lots of loud stick taps rang in Craig Berube’s first training camp practice with the Maple Leafs.

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At one stage, Toronto’s former captain, John Tavares, and current ‘C’ holder Auston Matthews were locked in intense 1-on-1 puck battles. But the real duel came with the nets placed only about 25 feet apart, much closer than Sheldon Keefe’s version of the hamburger drill, with blue and white foes in close quarters right in the goalies’ faces.

“Intense,” agreed Joseph Woll of watching forwards and defencemen bump helmets in front of his crease. “That’s what’s going to be emphasized throughout the year, being hard on the puck and being one of the hardest teams to play against. This was a good start.

“It’s contagious. And the way it’s contagious for goalies is not so much being aggressive — I’m not going to turn into Ron Hextall — but it’s more the mindset of the compete a hundred percent of the time. There are no reps off and that’s something (Berube) is really going to emphasize.

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“To be a hard team and physical team is not always to go running around smashing everyone. It’s how you compete and what you have going on up here (pointing to his head). That definitely moved throughout the team.”

There was no need to sell winger Ryan Reaves on the new coach, as he fills the role Berube once had as a 1990s scrapper, carrying that energy into a long coaching career.

“Come out of the gates hot and see what this team is all about,” Reaves said approvingly. “He expects a lot of intensity and detail. After you saw that practice, it’s going to be a very direct, gritty team this year. It sends a message right away.

“In summer skates, you’re not leaning on anybody, you don’t really get those battle drills. But today was up and down the sheet battles, in the corners, 1-on-1’s, 2-on-2’s on full ice.”

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By the time Berube and his trusty stopwatch ran through both his primary practice groups for the first time — a third is comprised of development players — he was quite satisfied he and his new charges understood each other.

“Just learning that you’re going to be uncomfortable a lot of times and work and compete under those circumstances,” Berube said matter-of-factly. “It’s the game, isn’t it? Not every game is intense as others, but I want our team to have an identity. I was impressed that it was a tough practice, but that the pace never dropped off.”

Berube didn’t touch the reigning first line of Matthews between Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies, while Tavares centred an intriguing second group with Bobby McMann, who missed last year’s playoffs, and Nick Robertson, the latter moved to the right wing.

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Winger Max Pacioretty was elated to be healthy at camp after multiple ankle surgeries, making a late summer call to join the Leafs on a PTO.

“I wanted to take my time this summer and see where my body was at and how (potential) teams shaped up,” the 35-year-old said. “Ultimately, we thought this was a good fit. My wife and family made a lot of sacrifices for me this summer, so I owe it to myself and them to see if I can get back where I was (a 30-goal scorer, who was once captain of the Canadiens).

“The good news is I feel like I’m there (physically) and I can’t wait to prove it.”

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The key was a few weeks ago when Pacioretty quietly came to town to go through a medical and state-of-the-art on-ice testing of strength and power that he aced with scores as good as his pre-injury days. After being among the last to arrive this week, he began on left wing with Pontus Holmberg and prospect Nikita Grebenkin.

“A lot of guys are in a situation with a new coach and new faces. Everyone’s excited to get going and I’m in no different position than most of the guys in the room. Everyone’s coming in with a chip on their shoulder, something to prove, and that’s me as well.

“No secret they’ve had a lot of success with their top guys here, but they need to get over the hump and I‘m looking to push everybody as much as they’ll push me.’

Fellow PTO forward Steven Lorentz is here from the defending champion Florida Panthers and was placed for now with fourth-line centre David Kampf and Reaves.

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