Lean and mean

A lot of guys skating in Mike Komisarek's boots might be worried. Not Komisarek, though.

"Someone asked me the other day if there's more pressure on me this year and I feel like I am coming into camp, not at ease, but ready to enjoy the challenge facing me where in the past I was nervous and uptight," Komisarek said. "It's probably do-or-die time, but it's also an opportunity for me. I play for an Original Six team, the second one I've played on, and I love it. The media's job is to analyze and speculate and dissect things, but for me it's just about doing my job and doing it better than I have in the past."

Komisarek hit the nail on the head. If he is to make the Maple Leafs this season and play as a regular, he needs to be better. The seventh overall pick in the 2001 NHL entry draft by the Montreal Canadiens, Komisarek's ice time has dropped in each of the past four seasons. Injuries have had a hand in that, but when he has been healthy, Komisarek has not been the tough, physical and safe defender the Leafs hoped they were acquiring.

Now Toronto has a lot of depth on the blue line and Komisarek needs to find his game. Captain Dion Phaneuf, Luke Schenn, Keith Aulie and newcomers John-Michael Liles and Cody Franson are a lock to play in the top six leaving Komisarek, Jeff Finger, Carl Gunnarsson and Matt Lashoff to battle for a spot on the team. Komisarek, based on his contract and experience, should have the upper hand. Youngsters Jesse Blacker, Jake Gardiner and Stuart Percy bode well for the future.

Although he is a veteran of six full seasons in the NHL, the 29-year-old Komisarek entered Toronto Maple Leafs training camp as one of the team's question marks. The Leafs hoped he would be a kingpin on the defence when they signed him two years ago as an unrestricted free agent - part of new GM Brian Burke's beefing up the blue line - but things have not exactly gone as planned.

Komisarek had a goal and 10 points in 75 games last season. He wasn't signed for his offence, so his defensive game has to be spot on. That said, Komisarek was minus-8 and his playing time dipped to 13:37 per game from 19:56 the year before. The West Islip, NY, native acknowledges he's in a battle to gain a position of significance with the team and he's cool with that.

"There are always guys fighting for spots; trying to make an impression - to get their foot in the door - and the second you get comfortable in this league you're in trouble," Komisarek said. "I think I have had the same mentality since I was young. If you think you have already made it or your spot is guaranteed, you're mistaken. We're a team that hasn't made the playoffs in a couple of years so having eight NHL caliber defencemen is only going to help. Plus it makes for healthy competition. We push one another.

"I think it's easy to start thinking about what more you have to do and you run the risk of getting in trouble because you're trying to do too much. When you forget about doing the things that got you here and made you successful, well, that's not what I want to do. For me it was moving the puck quickly, being physical and winning battles down low. I do the little things that hopefully help the team win."

Komisarek did make a big change in the way he treated his body this summer.

"It was my nutrition," Komisarek said. "My girlfriend, Ania, is a health and nutrition fanatic. Any book on nutrition she could get her hands on she devours. We've always been health conscious, but not to this extent where we're gluten free; we eat less meat. I can really feel a difference in terms of my energy. Coming to this camp I'm probably as strong as I ever was, but I'm moving better. I feel like I have more energy."

It showed Monday night when Komisarek played 20:42 in Toronto's 4-0 home loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. He led the Maple Leafs with four hits and was even on the night. Komisarek, who said he has played between 240 and 253 pounds, looked noticeably trimmer as he prepared to leave for Philadelphia and a rematch with the Flyers. He was equally strong in Philadelphia Wednesday night playing 19:39 in a 4-2 Leafs win.

"He was pretty good," said Leafs coach Ron Wilson. "He kept the game simple. He appears to be a little quicker, but you won't know until the regular season starts and the real bullets start to fly. He has really worked hard and now it's a matter of maintaining the confidence he has now and then building upon it."

Komisarek, who will earn $5.5 million this season and $3.5 million in each of the next two, is upbeat about this year.

"I don't look in the rear view mirror," Komisarek said. "I'm moving forward. You come to camp and you are reminded quickly what has happened the past few years on a daily basis. Love reading the paper, but I don't read the sports and I don't watch the sportscasts on TV. I know in my mind what I have to do and I have to do my job better."

The Leafs are counting on that.

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy writes Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday on Sportsnet.ca and appears regularly on Hockeycentral.