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Sheldon Keefe brings winning touch to Marlies job, Leafs system

Matt Frattin has seen first-hand how far the Toronto Maple Leafs have come when it comes to developing its prospects at the American Hockey League level.

The 28-year-old spent parts of two seasons (2011-13) with the Toronto Marlies, then under head coach Dallas Eakins. He returned to the Leafs organization last season, playing 59 games for the Marlies with Gord Dineen serving as the club’s head coach.

With Sheldon Keefe now at the helm, Frattin has seen a drastic improvement in maintaining similar playing styles between the Leafs and Marlies.

“The biggest thing is we’re playing the exact same system as the Leafs are, we’ve been focused on that all year, and that’s definitely different than when we were with Ron Wilson and Dallas Eakins – they both kind of had their own systems,” Frattin said. “Now we run kind of (Mike) Babcock’s system (from) up top and we’re developing that down here so when you go up, you kind of know how to play.”

Keefe led the Marlies to a league-best 54-16-6 record during the regular season, his first as a coach in the pro ranks. The 35-year-old admitted he leaned on his experiences playing in the AHL, with Springfield, Hershey and Utah, to help him with the transition.

Part of the adjustment was getting used to seeing players come and go between the Leafs and Marlies on an almost daily basis during the regular season. In all, 58 different players suited up for the Marlies this season including eight goaltenders.

“I was well aware of the situation coming in,” Keefe said “I went through it as a player, playing in the AHL and knowing that you're here one day and gone the next and the guy you're lined up beside it could be the same thing or the lineup you're expecting to go into the big game with all of a sudden changes drastically.

“I knew all that stuff coming in, especially this season knowing there was going to be a lot of movement within both organizations. I was fully prepared for it so it never really caught me off guard. There was at times a little bit of a chuckle just on how much things can change at this level.”

Things got particularly interesting when goaltenders Garret Sparks or Antoine Bibeau were recalled with the club on the road. At one point, the Marlies were forced to sign David Ayres to an amateur tryout contract. Ayres occasionally works with the Marlies’ ice crew and drives the Zamboni for games.

“That creates a really unique challenge,” Keefe said with a laugh. “You're on the road and you lose a goaltender after morning skate. We faced a little bit of everything this year so it was a good initiation for me into the American Hockey League for sure, but we got through it pretty well.”

Keefe spent the previous three seasons coaching the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The Brampton, Ont., native got into coaching after suffering a career-ending knee injury while playing with the Utah Grizzlies.

He began his coaching career with the Central Canadian Hockey League’s Pembroke Lumber Kings, a team he also owned, in 2006. As the Lumber Kings' head coach and GM, Keefe led the Tier II Junior A club to five straight league championships, two Fred Page Cup Eastern Canadian championships and the 2011 RBC Cup title. Keefe compiled a 285-95-12 record in his six seasons with the Lumber Kings.

As he gets acclimated to the pro game, part of the challenge for Keefe was coaching a more mature roster.

“I think the big thing was dealing with older players,” Keefe said. “We have a young team, we've got some guys here that would be eligible or are younger than guys that I coached in the OHL last year. That said, you draw on your older guys, you can rely on them a little bit more to keep a handle on the locker room. You speak with them a lot and take a lot of their input into scheduling and get a feel for how the team is doing.

“At the beginning the schedule and the different cities and arenas and coaches around the league, that kind of stuff has taken a little bit of time and Gord Dineen's experience has really been valuable there, certainly.”

His players admit to having benefitted from his coaching, including defenceman T.J. Brennan who led the Marlies in scoring with 25 goals and 43 assists in 69 games and was named the recipient of the Eddie Shore Award as the league’s top blueliner for the second time in three years.

“I’ve been around for a little bit, but I feel this is probably the most I’ve grown in the seven years that I’ve played,” said Brennan, 27. “To me, that’s all the credit towards the coaching staff and Sheldon. He’s done a great job. He demanded respect right away and never settles for less than the best out of us.

“He’s always expecting a little bit more and has high expectations. He’s a great coach and I’ve really loved playing for him.”

Added Frattin: “He’s very knowledgeable in games and he can kind of sense how the game is going (and) switch things up.”

Despite it being his first season in the league, Keefe finds himself in a similar position as he was last season with the Greyhounds.

Sault Ste. Marie advanced to the Western Conference finals last spring only to be ousted by Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters in six games.

Even though the AHL is a step up from the OHL, Keefe said he still leans on last season’s playoff experience as he guides the Marlies through the Calder Cup playoffs.

“I think every experience you go through no matter how far you go or how far you don't go, you're still always learning, you're always drawing from it,” Keefe said. “Pro hockey is a little bit of a different feel, but it's certainly still hockey. You're always learning and taking what you can from everything that you go through.

“I certainly didn't feel out of my element coaching in the last series (against Albany) and coaching in Game 7 and everything that was at stake. I felt pretty comfortable. You want to have that experience at the pro level for sure, but these are all players that have played in big moments at different times in their career so everybody is able to draw on different things.”