Jani Hakanpaa takes step toward home on Maple Leafs blueline

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BRACEBRIDGE — As the Maple Leafs’ bus pulled into Muskoka on Monday afternoon, Jani Hakanpaa had a thought.

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“This is like home,” the native of Finland said. “The trees, for sure. Back home there is probably not as much rock, but the lakes. We got into the sauna yesterday and jumped into the lake and back. I love that — so good for the body and the mind.

“It’s been a really fun few days up here.”

It wasn’t just away from the ice during the Leafs’ getaway that Hakanpaa found some comfort.

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On Wednesday morning, for the first time since he spent the summer recovering from a knee injury before finally signing with the Leafs on Sept. 11, Hakanpaa joined his teammates for a full workout.

This one just happened to be in front of approximately 800 schoolkids as the Leafs practised at the new Muskoka Lumber Community Centre before heading back to Toronto, where they will prepare for their final two pre-season games.

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A home-and-home set against the Detroit Red Wings — in Detroit on Thursday and in Toronto on Saturday — wraps up the Leafs’ pre-season schedule.

The opening-night roster is due to the National Hockey League by 5 p.m. on Oct. 7.

“It’s been a long time coming, for sure, been doing a lot of work to get here,” Hakanpaa said of his return to full participation.

“It was a lot of fun to actually be with the guys out there.”

How far away is Hakanpaa from making his in-game debut with Toronto? There has been speculation that the Leafs will put the 32-year-old on long-term injured reserve to start the regular season, which gets underway on Oct. 9 in Montreal against the Canadiens.

Hakanpaa hasn’t played in a game since March 16 with the Dallas Stars.

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“We’re just going day by day right now, trying to do everything we can and then hopefully sooner than later,” Hakanpaa said.

“I feel like every day I take a little tiny step forward and we’ve been on a good track here. We just want to keep doing that. When the time comes, we’re going to be ready to go.”

Naturally, the 6-foot-7, 222-pound Hakanpaa stood out. The Leafs wanted Hakanpaa, and were patient as he recovered from his injury during the summer, partly because of his ability to be effective while the team is shorthanded.

Though his return is not imminent, he took some reps on the penalty kill.

“You see the size of him and the length, he’s not even ready yet, but he just kills plays with his reach,” coach Craig Berube said. “He’s hard to play against. He’s physical, he plays hard around our net, and his game is pretty simple.”

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Forward Connor Dewar also took part in practice, the majority of which was spent on special teams drills, for the first time as he works his way back from having shoulder surgery in the spring.

Forwards John Tavares and Calle Jarnkrok, who have been nursing minor ailments, were full participants.

GUFFAWS WITH GREBENKIN

The aim of the Leafs’ trip north for a few days was, for the most part, to get to know each other a little better.

From the sound of it, 21-year-old Russian rookie forward Nikita Grebenkin made quite the impression during the Leafs’ stay at the Windermere House resort on Lake Rosseau.

“Grebenkin is one funny guy,” Berube said. “He’s quite a character, this kid. He’s got a real bright future in this league. He’s close. He has impressed me, just with his play.

“Pretty funny guy. Really enjoyed being around him.”

Mitch Marner agreed.

“It’s a little bit of both (one-liners and jokes),” Marner said. “And then every once a while, he’s got to throw the translator out there on his phone. He was keeping it up the whole week. He was a lot of fun to be around.

“A hilarious guy. Really took up English quickly.”

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