Fortunately Morgan Rielly seems like a hell of a nice guy. Or at least he hides his career-murdering intentions well.
He wants to play in the NHL this season, but to do that someone else’s Toronto NHL dream will die in cold blood.
It’s a tough business.
The Toronto Maple Leafs blue-line situation is a deep – at least in terms of numbers – and slightly muddled picture.
At the top end there are the likes of Dion Phaneuf and Carl Gunnarsson who can be considered fixtures. In the middle are pieces like Jake Gardiner and Mark Fraser, who emerged as viable NHL rearguards over the course of last season, with Gardiner demonstrating some star potential.
And after that there’s Cody Franson – not yet in camp due to a contract dispute; veteran John-Michael Liles, who is trying to carve out a role, and wild cards like Paul Ranger, fast-tracking a comeback from three years out of the NHL.
But the list doesn’t end there, with a handful of other bodies determined to earn some NHL minutes in Leafs coach Randy Carlyle’s meritocracy.
“The competition on the blue-line is unbelievable right now. You can’t relax for a second,” Gunnarsson, a five-year veteran who signed a three-year contract for $9.45 million in the off-season was saying Friday.
Contract security is not the same as job security, apparently.
Among those trying to push for a spot is Rielly, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2012 draft and a 19-year-old with a baby face but with plans to kill one of his fellow camp attendee’s dreams.
“My goal is to play here this year. I’m not worried about what could happen or what they’re planning on doing. I’m just going to go with it,” Rielly said after his second day of scrimmages with the big club.
Him staying on the NHL roster means someone won’t be; but despite the ruthlessness of the equation, camp hasn’t been dog-eat-dog, at least at this stage.
“It’s not like that,” Rielly said. “(The veterans) are all helpful. I’ve been chatting with them … it’s not an on-going feud where I’m trying to take their job and they’re trying to keep it. They’ve been helpful and quite friendly. It’s been an awesome experience.”
Easy for him to say. It’s not his job to lose. But despite the math Rielly appears to right – the competition has been largely friendly.
“He seems like a nice, quiet kid,” said Liles, who could conceivably lose minutes to Rielly if he does make the team.
“Everyone’s always fighting for a job; it’s the nature of the sport. Ultimately my approach is I try to help guys out because I was fortunate enough to have some good older guys to help me along when I first came in the league it meant a lot to me.”
Rielly’s got his own motivation. Staying with the big club means avoiding a return to the Moose Jaw Warriors of the CHL and the brain-bending bus trips that are unique to life in the WHL.
“I’ll be happy to hop on plane one day as opposed to those 20-hour bus rides,” Rielly said. “But hopefully I can keep playing hard and use some of those experiences in junior to help me.”
Because Rielly is too young to play full-time in the AHL there is no middle ground where he can apprentice as an NHL prospect. It’s either return to junior or stay in Toronto.
If there were a third option it would probably suit all parties best. Rielly has shown NHL talent but bridging the gulf between the CHL and the NHL is a jump few are fully prepared to make.
He got a taste of the pro life last season after his junior year ended and he played 22 games with the Marlies, counting two goals and two assists. He learned like many others have that there are a lot of excellent professionals who aren’t playing in the NHL.
“I was surprised with the pace and how good those players were,” he said.
Now he’s trying to prove he belongs on the highest rung of all. The Leafs have signalled that Rielly won’t be on the team if he’s not capable of playing 12 or 15 minutes a game at least. Given the number of bodies Rielly is trying to take those minutes from logistics might dictate another year of junior might be the way to go.
“There’s some positives for both sides. Some say the development at junior would be better for the player in the long-term, to play at his own level, play at his own age, dominate and play world junior and all of those things,” Carlyle said.
“The other side of the coin is he better to play 40, 50, 60 games here, practice in the NHL, still attend the world juniors – all those factors go into the decision and they’re tough decisions when you have talented players.”
In the meantime Rielly is making the most of a chance most would kill for.