Reimer ready to roll

James Reimer comes off the ice with the familiar ear-to-ear grin that has become his trademark and comfortably stands before the media for his daily grilling. Okay, maybe grilling is a little too harsh, but the fact of the matter is there probably isn't a question he hasn't been asked about being anointed the No. 1 goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the last month.

He has handled himself with grace and you can tell he really has fun, but now it's the moment of truth as Thursday night he'll be in the spotlight when the Maple Leafs kick off their 2011-12 season with the first in a five-game home stand against the Montreal Canadiens.

All eyes will be on the crease where Reimer will stand, building on a 37-game NHL resume during which time he has become something of a local hero. He said he's ready to get things rolling.

"Tonight I'll be excited…probably a little nervous and just looking forward to tomorrow," Reimer said. "I've never had a home opener or a season opener in the NHL. I've had a lot of firsts as far as last year goes, but never a home opener. It'll be pretty exciting."

You really can't take the pre-season too seriously because nobody has ever been awarded the Stanley Cup or an individual honour in September of October. Remember last season, when after a bit of a stinker in his first pre-season game in which he allowed four goals on nine shots, Montreal goalie Carey Price told Habs fans to, "chill out"? Price went on to have an amazing season.

Reimer was not so great in this year's pre-season. He went 1-3 with a 3.29 goals-against average and 88.8 save percentage. Reimer said he's not the least bit concerned. Rather, he's feeling pretty good about his game as reality approaches.

"I don't really think about it at all, to tell you the truth," he said. "It was a weird pre-season. Obviously you don't want to let in a lot of goals, but the pre-season is a tough part of the year to play in sometimes and the important thing is to stay solid and do things right. As far as (goalie coach) Francois Allaire was concerned he thought my game was really good. He didn't see any flaws and said I wasn't cheating or doing anything wrong technically. Everything is good."

Reimer, as it has been widely reported, lost weight in the off-season and is ready to embrace the physical challenges of being a No. 1 goalie in the NHL. One thing hasn't changed, though, and that's his passion for the sport. That, along with strong spiritual beliefs, are what drives him.

"Things have changed, for sure, but the more important things haven't changed and that's me just loving the game…loving to play the game and having fun with it," Reimer said. "Even now, after practice, the last five minutes I spent goofing off in the net and having fun making terribly non-fundamental saves, I love it. I love skating and being out there. It doesn't matter where I am; whether it's the Coast, the AHL or here. Obviously here it's bigger crowds and more hype and maybe the excitement is a little more, but really, it's about having fun."

Any way you slice it, there will be more pressure on Reimer this season. He has been given the No. 1 job, but he'll have to continue to earn it on a nightly basis. For as good as he was in constructing a 20-10-5 record last season, everyone knows there have been plenty of young goalies who came in on a high and disappeared just as quickly. Steve Penny. Blaine Lacher. Jim Carey.

"Sure there's a little more pressure, but that makes it more fun, too," Reimer said. "It's the great part about the game. When you are playing on the street you're never playing Game 1 of the playoffs or a midseason game; it's always Game 7. You love the pressure."

Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson doesn't believe pressure will be an issue for his goaltender.

"I don't think it will be any different than last year because by the last two months of the season he was clearly our No. 1 goalie and he handled that," Wilson said. "He's just got to do what he does well and shut out all the noise and we believe he's a No. 1 goalie who will have a great year."

STECKEL STOCKED

Newcomer David Steckel stood before a hoard of media after his first practice with the Maple Leafs and basically said, "Wow! I think this is the first time I've seen this many cameras around for practice before."

Steckel was brought to town to play a defensive role and to win faceoffs. The 6-foot-5 and 215-pound Milwaukee, Wisc., native led the NHL with a 62.3 winning percentage in the faceoff circle and coach Ron Wilson is convinced he'll be an asset in Toronto.

"David is going to help a lot on faceoffs," Wilson said. "That's something that, outside of Tyler Bozak, we might be a little weak on. That'll help our penalty killing. If he can continue winning 60 percent of his faceoffs rather than somebody only winning 42 or 43 percent, that just improves your odds that you can get the puck down the ice on your PK."

Steckel, who was dealt to New Jersey just last season from the Washington Capitals, said he was not surprised to be moved prior t the start of this season.

"No; not at all," he said. "I sat down and had a meeting with management in New Jersey and it just wasn't going to work out. I was fortunate that Mr. (Lou) Lamoriello was kind enough to get something done for me. It's going to be great. There's a rich tradition and history here and I'm glad to be a part of it."

Winning faceoffs isn't something he's done forever. Rather, it is something he has worked hard on to perfect and it has clearly paid dividends. Steckel has never scored more than eight goals in a season and yet he earns $1.1 million a year with this year and next left on his contract.

"I had a coach, Bob Mancini, who kind of reamed me out one practice and told me, 'If you want to be an asset as a third-line or fourth-line centre you've got to do something else,' " and winning draws was that," Steckel said.

KOMISAREK AND THE KID

Veteran defenceman Mike Komisarek is under the gun to find the game that has abandoned him his first two years in Toronto since signing a massive free agent contract. He beat out newcomer Cody Franson to remain in the top six and if he's going to find his game, he'll do it teamed with a green 21-year-old whiz kid.

Call it Komo and the kid.

Komisarek and Jake Gardiner will be one of the three featured defensive pairs that will play in the season opener against Montreal. So far Komisarek has been blown away by what he has seen from Gardiner who had a goal and five points in six pre-season games.

"How old is he, 20? 21? Geez, he can't even drink," Komisarek said. "He's a great kid. I wish I was half the defenceman he is when I was his age. He is a tremendous player on the ice. Everybody has seen that in the pre-season. A guy like that comes into camp and he's eager to learn. He's mature beyond his year, but he's still trying to soak everything in and learn as much as he can every day. You love to see a guy like that around here. He's going to be a great defenceman in this league for a long time, but he's coming to the rink with the right attitude. He handles himself in a very mature, veteran-like manor."

It isn't only at the rink that Komisarek has been impressed with his young partner.

"I had the opportunity to meet and practice with Gards at the World Championship, so I got to know him there a little bit," Komisarek recalled. "He's a guy who, when we were over in Slovakia we were allowed to bring a guest, he brought his mom. I remember it was Mother's Day and here's a kid who buys flowers for his mother. That left a pretty good impression on me - as well as my girlfriend. She hit it off pretty well with Jake's mom. We all got together last Sunday to watch football and he's telling my girlfriend that his mom said to say hello to her. She didn't say hi to me."

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy will cover the Toronto Maple Leafs for sportsnet.ca for the 2011/12 season.