Drafted fourth overall by the Buds in 2015, Mitchell “Mitch” Marner has become a Toronto Maple Leafs superstar and one of the Core Four. Notching his third career hat trick, and a natural one, in Friday night’s road game against the Detroit Red Wings, the star Maple Leafs forward is on pace for an NHL career high in points. And it’s not just his points that make him deserving of the title “superstar.” Marner has a keen eye to receive a pass, can be in the right position to receive them and put the puck home, helps make plays, maintains puck possession, and is an accurate shot with a 14.1 shooting percentage so far this season.
Earlier this year, Marner expressed his desire to remain a Maple Leaf. When asked by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman if he wanted to stay in Toronto, with Friedman saying he couldn’t see Marner in another uniform, Mitchy made it clear he does
“I think you hope not, right? That’s the whole goal, I mean, like I spoke on, I’m passionate about this team and I’m passionate about this fanbase. So, you know, I hope not.” the 27-year-old said.
Watching Marner’s ability to keep the puck away from opponents is mesmerizing. Just before he tried to get a goal off a pass from former Leafs captain John Tavares, he demonstrated this. He was able to keep the puck from young Red Wings left-winger Lucas Raymond and large defenceman Simon Edvinsson. Not long after, we saw the chemistry between Marner and his current linemate Tavares. Tavares passed to Marner, who took the shot, but didn’t put it home. But then, Tavares had the puck after the rebound, and this is the highlight of the play. Tavares made a no-look pass to Marner through Red Wings traffic. That’s when Marner scored the slap shot.
Second Goal of Dec. 27 Hat Trick – “The Magic”
Let’s talk about Marner’s second slap shot goal of the game, and this time on the power play. This was a very similar goal to the previous, in that the feed went from one side of the offensive zone to the other. Just prior to the goal, you had a large triangle in the offensive zone of Tavares near the Red Wings’ blue line, star right-winger William Nylander by the lower offensive zone faceoff circle, and Marner in the top offensive zone faceoff circle. This is a good example of a good set-up. J.T. made the pass to Nylander since Red Wings traffic obstructed a straight path between Tavares and the Red Wings’ net. Nylander was in the right position to send a feed through a gap that lay between them, and then Marner scored the slap shot. Magical chemistry among the Core Four indeed.
The top Pacioretty-Tavares-Marner line proved useful in the second period Friday night with Marner tipping in the 2009 sixth overall pick Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s shot to finish his hat trick. With superstar forward and team captain Auston Matthews out, the loaded-up top line is no more for the time being. In this case, Marner got to the right spot to tip in the shot from Ekman-Larsson to notch Toronto’s fourth goal of the game.
