Local boy making most of chance with the Maple Leafs

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This article was published 23/04/2021 (1696 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Adam Brooks is relishing the kind of on-the-job training any young NHL player would jump at the opportunity to receive.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs forward has questions, he can turn to a guy with nearly 1,700 games and more than 1,500 points to his credit. Or, he can go with the guy who’s suited up for 1,150 contests and collected nearly 1,000 points.

Not bad mentors and role models for the 24-year-old Winnipeg product, set to centre the fourth line — with Joe Thornton, 41, to his left and Jason Spezza, 37, to his right — in just the 12th game of his fledgling career.

The trio was together Thursday as the visiting Leafs upended the Winnipeg Jets 5-3 and is expected to remain intact when the clubs reconnect tonight.

It truly is the stuff that dreams are made of, Brooks said Friday.

“It’s exciting. When I saw the potential to play between those two in the (Thursday) morning skate and saw that it was gonna happen, I was very excited, not only to be on the ice with two guys like that — two legends — but just to be able to be on the bench with them, get some knowledge bounced off them and hear their thoughts throughout a game,” said Brooks, a former minor-hockey phenom with the Winnipeg Hawks.

“(Both) are two great guys to learn from. One thing that I definitely admire is the passion they have for the game, the fun they have when they go out and play, and I think they make sure that you’re not overly stressed.”

Brooks, who grew up in West Kildonan, played five seasons with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League. After getting ignored in two NHL drafts, the Maple Leafs selected him in the fourth round (92nd overall) in 2016 after that 120-point campaign.

He’s played parts of four seasons with the Marlies, Toronto’s AHL affiliate, and joined the parent club for seven games during the ’19-20 season and then made his 2021 debut in January.

With injuries to Zach Hyman and Ilya Mikheyev, Brooks received a recent promotion.

Leafs’ coach Sheldon Keefe, a big Brooks fan since the two won a Calder Cup together in 2018 with the Marlies, said the Manitoban has yet to have an off night in the NHL.

“He stayed with it and he’s got his chance here and he’s been incredible. He’s played well in every game that he’s played in the NHL, going back to last season. But (Thursday) night was his best. He made plays on offensive when he had the puck, he skated with confidence, he competed defensively, he was in really good spots,” said Keefe. “I trusted him and his line to play against anybody. And against a team like Winnipeg, to have that faith, that’s significant

“Playing with those veteran guys helps, but don’t take anything from Brooksy and how he’s stuck with it. It’s been impressive how he’s stepped in at this time of the year and taken advantage of his chance.”

Brooks fired his milestone first NHL tally earlier this season — a power-play goal Jan. 22 in a victory over the Edmonton Oilers — and picked up his second goal, a short-handed effort, earlier this week in a loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

No other player in the Leafs’ long and storied history has begun his career with two goals on opposite special-teams units.

“It’s just the way it worked out. I would love to be productive at 5-on-5 but anytime you’re able to play on special teams… when you’re put into those situation, it’s a good thing,” Brooks said.

Unfortunately, he’s been afforded no opportunity to meet up with family and friends during his three-day stay in his home town, owing to COVID-19 protocols.

“I haven’t been able to see any of them. Obviously, I love this city and I love coming back here, and would love to see everybody. But just with the way things are, it’s smarter to just keep your distance,” said Brooks.

“When you’re 20 minutes down the road from your mom, she definitely wants to see you. She’s a little bit upset, but they understand it and they know there are bigger things at stake than a 20-minute visit.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell