TORONTO -- After golfing in Muskoka in a foursome with Morgan Rielly, John Klingberg and Sam Lafferty, Fraser Minten sat down for a team dinner with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Having not only survived the first culling of training camp — 30 hopefuls were returned to the AHL or CHL early this week — but thriving in each of his pre-season auditions, the 19-year-old soaked in the moment.
"It's surreal. Like, you're looking around and seeing who's sitting at a table with you. You're like, 'Oh, my God. This is pretty cool.' If you told me two years ago I'd be here, I wouldn't believe you," Minten said Thursday morning, standing tall in an NHL dressing room he hopes to make home.
Minten will centre Matthew Knies and Calle Järnkrok Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings, as the Maple Leafs dress the closest thing they have to an opening-night roster:
When the Leafs selected Minten in the second round of the 2022 draft, scouts figured the two-way pivot was three years away from NHL action. Maybe two, if he fast-tracked.
Few would have believed the Vancouver native could make the leap after just one more winter of WHL seasoning.
Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe included.
"You're always hoping for it, obviously. You want your [young] guys to push and challenge. It's a great thing," Keefe said.
"Coming in here, I was excited to watch him again — but he definitely wasn't on the radar. There were some people internally that were talking to me and saying they thought Minten was gonna really show well here and surprise us in some ways, and he's certainly done that in the step that he's taken."
Minten has fashioned his game not after highlight shows like Patrick Kane or Mitch Marner but rather after the responsible two-way play of Bo Horvat, a centreman on whom he modeled his approach as a Canucks fanatic.
The teenager has attacked this tryout with a simple earn-one-more-day mindset he will carry into Thursday's (final?) exam alongside Toronto's superstars.
Keefe vows to play him lots. See how he holds up.
Surely, the stakes of making the cut for a contender will give Minten butterflies, right?
"I don't really feel any pressure," Minten says. "Like, it wasn't necessarily something I expected coming in — to be here at this stage and getting the opportunity I am. So, I don't feel like I can lose out there tonight, no matter how it goes."
The assuredness, the focus, the maturity: Minten seems tailor-made to withstand this market's heat lamp, whether that's in 2025, 2024, or as early as Wednesday, when the puck drops for real.
How has he managed to become Toronto's training camp success story?
"I think being myself. I think the way I play is smart hockey. And I think at the NHL, that's a big focus when it's a business to win games. The more you can manage the puck, put it in their end more than yours, get it out of your end, that helps tilt the ice," Minten says.
"I think the way I play is built for pro."
The veterans agree.
Asked what stands out most about Minten, Morgan Rielly opts for all the above.
"Everything. He's played outstanding. He's a mature young guy that I think has left a good impression on about everyone he's talked to over the last couple of weeks," Rielly says.
"He's a really smart player. Obviously has a good understanding for the game, how to play his position. And then he just looks stronger than he was last year. And he's skating much better.
"But ultimately, I think, his brain is on his side. He's a smart young man. He's a smart player. So when he's out there, he's able to find space and make plays. And if you're able to do that while also improving your skating and improving your strength during offseason, you put yourself in the position he's in."
The Maple Leafs' decision-makers have always been impressed by Minten's attitude and potential, but when the prospect was an early cut from 2022's training camp, they identified a wide gap he needed to clear in terms of physical strength, speed, and playmaking.
Six days before opening night, Keefe, pleasantly surprised, has declared that gap closed.
Yes, Fraser Minten arrived a longshot. But, like Llyod Christmas, we're telling you there’s a chance.
"Just going to be myself out there," Minten says, "and see what happens."
