Brooks to anchor fourth line against Jets

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This article was published 02/01/2020 (2075 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He earned the rather obvious nickname Brooksy several years ago but admits it sounds even sweeter when it’s tossed around by his Toronto Maple Leafs teammates and coaches.

Adam Brooks is just thrilled to belong, for whatever duration of time the NHL team deems it necessary and appropriate to keep him around.

The 23-year-old forward from West Kildonan will play his third NHL game Thursday night — and it’ll happen in his hometown — as the streaking Maple Leafs face the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place in the first of two meetings in less than a week between the Canadian squads. Game time is 7 p.m.

Brooks will centre a fourth line that should include Frederik Gauthier and Dmytro Timashov, although Mason Marchment was promoted from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League on Wednesday and could slot in on the wing.

“It’s definitely surreal,” Brooks said on New Year’s Day, following Toronto’s practice at the downtown rink. He played three games here with the Marlies since the beginning of the 2017-18 AHL season but is keenly aware this one’s a different beast, entirely. “I never thought there’d be an opportunity for me to be with the Leafs this year. But after some injuries and stuff, I was able to get the call-up. 

“I played the first two games but knew coming up on the schedule was an opportunity to be in Winnipeg and play in front of family and friends, so it’s going to be an amazing experience. It’ll definitely be a game I never forget.”

Brooks was originally promoted a week before Christmas on an emergency basis but didn’t play on Dec. 17 at home against the Buffalo Sabres. He went back to the Marlies but was called up again 48 hours later and made the trip to New York on Dec. 20 but didn’t suit up against the Rangers.

After the holiday season, he rejoined former Marlies coach, Sheldon Keefe, and the Leafs and, following a scary wrist injury to winger llya Mikheyev, made his NHL debut last Saturday in a 5-4 overtime loss to the visiting Rangers.

“You never want to see a guy go down like that, so it’s a tough thing. But getting a chance to play at Scotiabank Arena with that atmosphere was unreal,” said Brooks, who played seven shifts and about five minutes of ice time. “I think my first shift was about 19 seconds. It was a controlled forecheck, they iced the puck and I was right off. So, it was actually nice because I kind of got my feet under me and got rid of the nerves.”

Three days later in St. Paul, Minn., his usage doubled to 16 shifts and nine minutes in Toronto’s 4-1 victory the Wild.

There’s a comfortable fit between Gauthier and Timashov, he said. “We obviously know each other really well after playing together with the Marlies the year we won the (Calder Cup) championship (in 2018). We weren’t on the same line but we’re so familiar with each other.”

In parts of three seasons with the Marlies, Brooks has accumulated 37 goals and 38 assists in 138 contests, including eight goals and eight helpers in 20 games this season.

Health issues were prominent part of his AHL journey, from mononucleosis to lower-body injuries to a heart scare in late 2018. He was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a condition that, on rare occasions, speeds up his heart rate. At this point, no medication intervention is required.

Keefe, who took control of the Leafs bench Nov. 20 after Mike Babcock was fired, said the 5-10, 185-pound centre has shown no hesitancy on the forecheck and in puck battles since his arrival.

“Brooksy has played well in the two games with us. The biggest thing I’ve seen from him is his confidence in his ability and feeling like he belongs, and then just his skating. Part of that is the work he’s put in to improve his skating but also with confidence you just dig in a little bit harder and push a little bit more,” said Keefe. 

Brooks has an AHL title on his resume after joining the Leafs organization once an exceptional junior career in Regina was over. But he’s the first to acknowledge things could have turned out far differently if not for a decision to stick it out with the Pats of the Western Hockey League in early 2014.

Rarely used as a 17-year-old, Brooks contemplated leaving Regina to join his brother, Brett, with the Winnipeg Blues of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League but elected to remain in major junior as a role player — managing just a combined eight goals and 23 points in his first two seasons with the Pats.

But things changed dramatically during his third season when Manitoba product and former Jets 1.0 coach John Paddock took over in Regina, and Brooks finished with 30 goals and 62 points. In his fourth and fifth seasons, he proved lethal with 38 goals and 120 points as a 19-year-old and then 43 tallies and 87 assists in his final year of junior.

Passed over in two NHL Drafts, the Maple Leafs selected him in the fourth round (92nd overall) in 2016 after that 120-point campaign.

“There was a distinct moment when I was ready to leave Regina. It was something we talked a lot about as a family and I ended up staying. That was a tough rest of the season but it’s something that helped me grow as a player and as a person, helped me overcome adversity,” Brooks said.

“Obviously, I owe most of my career to (Paddock). He’s someone who’s still very influential in my life, someone I talk to a lot, and I think he’s coming to the game in Winnipeg (Thursday). I can’t think him enough for everything he did for me.”

Leafs captain John Tavares said Brooks has fit in nicely with a group playing some of its finest hockey of the ’19-20 season.

“Brooksy’s come through the organization and has done a great job and has earned this opportunity, so all the credit to him for that and he wants to make the most of it. We’ve been razzing him a bit about playing at home, but just a really special chance for him to play in front of friends and family so early in his NHL career,” said Tavares. “We want to make it a good night for him and for us. We’re really lucky to have him, just a lot of fun and, obviously, a really good hockey player.”

 

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPJasonBell