Leafs call up pair of fresh faces as showdown looms with Stars

The depth of the Maple Leafs organization has increased in recent years, and not by a small amount. The franchise has drafted and developed a slew of up-and-coming talent, and those youngsters who aren't already part of the NHL roster have been honing their craft in the American Hockey League with the Toronto Marlies. Two of those prospects - forward Andreas Johnsson and defenceman Calle Rosen - were recalled to the Leafs Tuesday morning, giving them an opportunity to earn more opportunities in hockey's best league.

For Johnsson - selected by Toronto in the seventh round (202nd overall) of the 2013 NHL entry draft - the call-up comes near the end of a phenomenal regular season in which he led the Marlies with 26 goals and 54 points in 54 games. The Gävle, Sweden native is likely to make his NHL debut Wednesday against the Dallas Stars, and is a tenacious presence around the puck whose instincts and vision give him a leg up on opponents. He said he had difficulty sleeping Monday night after learning he'd been promoted, a natural occurrence given his journey and how hard he's worked since coming over to North America in early 2016.
When he arrived, Johnsson said, his initial success with the Marlies gave him a false impression the AHL game would be an easy adjustment. But after suffering a major injury with the Marlies in the 2016 playoffs and battling back to distinguish himself as one of the AHL's elite performers, he understands how difficult it is to be where he's at today.
"It's been very tough," Johnsson said Tuesday after practice, regarding his evolution as a player. "First when I got here, I scored three goals the first weekend so I thought, 'Maybe this is a piece of pie'. But it's really tough. And I had a really long drought (of not scoring goals after that). You have to be good every game and work hard and create a lot of chances, because you don't get that many opportunities every game."
Leafs head coach Mike Babcock has seen Johnsson's improvement as a professional, and he's intrigued by what the 23-year-old has to offer.
"He's had a good year," Babcock said Tuesday after practice. "We haven't had a lot of opportunity to give him a chance. Even now, we're going to have to sit someone else to do it, so that makes it hard. But we have an opportunity here this week with three games, so we'll have a look at him, and…if we need him at playoff time, we have an understanding of what he can do.
"We've seen him lots, whether on TV or live, he's had a real good year. We had high hopes when he came to the American League, he got hurt right away, took a while to get his game back. but he seems like he's a real good hockey player down there, and they really like him. He's ultra-competitive and very intelligent. So we'll watch him here and see how it goes."
With Leafs defenders Nikita Zaitsev and Travis Dermott under the weather, the Leafs brought up Rosen on an emergency basis. The 24-year-old, who was signed as an unrestricted free agent last summer, appeared in four games with the Leafs at the beginning of the season, but was assigned to the Marlies to adapt to a style of play significantly different than the one to which he'd become accustomed in the Swedish elite league. In 50 games with the Marlies, he's amassed 16 assists and 17 points, and Babcock believes he's an improved asset since he last played an NHL game.
"He's an elite skater, got a great brain, he's playing a way stronger game," Babcock said of Rosen. "I don't know if he's stronger, but he's playing a way stronger game. And that's confidence, and that's probably just knowing where to go and knowing where to stand…he's getting better and better, and that's what you want."
After beating the Pittsburgh Penguins at Air Canada Centre Saturday, the Leafs hope to build a new win streak Wednesday against the Stars, a deep, veteran group guided by expert coach Ken Hitchcock. Toronto played one of its more complete games of the season in beating the Stars 4-1 in Dallas Jan. 25, but Babcock is aware they're in a dogfight for a playoff spot in the Western Conference and will be desperate for a victory.
"They're just playing well, and they're playing well without the puck," Babcock said of the Stars. "They make it hard on you. Even in their loss I watched the other night against Pittsburgh, they're very, very stingy, to say the least. Their penalty kill is good, they look after their goaltender and they've got a good hockey club."