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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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Players at Leafs development camp skated in two groups at the Ford Performance Centre on Friday. 

The prospects at Leafs development camp observed a world class horse trainer breaking in a wild colt on Friday morning at Toronto Equestrian Downtown on the Exhibition Grounds. 

"We first walked in, it smelled horrible," said University of Michigan winger Nick Moldenhauer with a smile. "So we were like, 'Okay, what are we in for here?' We didn't know if we had to like ride horses or something."

The players kept their distance from the horse, but learned from watching professional clinician Jeff Davis from Downunder Horsemanship do his thing during a presentation that stretched over two hours. 

"The first whole hour was just foundation stuff," said Toronto Marlies centre Luke Haymes, who signed with the Leafs in March out of Dartmouth College. "Teaching the horse how to move in different directions and to pay attention to you instead of paying attention to distractions and stuff like that. So that's really important as hockey players is to keep your focus inside the boards and focus on what you're doing."

Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser admitted on Thursday that she wasn't exactly sure how the seminar would be received. The Leafs assistant general manager for player development hoped players would learn about managing emotion and pressure in tricky situations. 

Things can get chaotic on the ice and there was at least one moment when the intensity rose during Friday's equine exhibition. 

"Yeah, when he was putting the saddle on the horse," said Fargo Force defenceman Matt Lahey, who is heading to Michigan State this fall. "Once he got around 10 feet away from him, the horse went absolutely ballistic."

Things calmed down quickly. 

"The horse started bucking everywhere and went crazy so that surprised everybody," said USNTDP winger William Belle. "But when the horse learned to trust the guy who was handling it, it settled down, so that was what he was trying to preach to us."

Developing trust within a relationship was a theme that resonated among many of the prospects. 

"One of the big takeaways is the relationship you have to build," said Lethbridge Hurricanes defenceman Noah Chadwick. "First, being kind of assertive with it, but also not too aggressive. It's kind of like a teammate relationship, he kind of explained to us, where you got to get the horse to respect you and vice versa."

While different prospects had different moments that stood out, everyone agreed it was nice to experience something new. 

"Not your average experience at dev camp," said Moldenhauer, who was a third-round pick (95th overall) in the 2022 draft. 

"It was a younger horse in its development and they're kind of relating it to us being in development camp," said Providence College centre Hudson Malinoski. "They're kind of training it to be a race horse and we're kind of developing our game to, you know, go pro soon. So, yeah, we kind of took that in our own way."

'Not your average experience': Horse trainer teaches Leafs prospects the ropes

Maple Leafs development camp took a turn on Friday, when the players were introduced to a horse trainer and his horse. He shared some foundational skills like leadership and teamwork and how he uses those to train his younger horses and how the players can take those into the locker room and on the ice.

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The players also heard from some more traditional guest speakers this week, including current Leafs coach Craig Berube. 

"He was awesome," said Chadwick. "Really good perspectives from him. He's been around the game for so long." 

The main theme? 

"Compete," Chadwick said. "And it's kind of [about] the willingness to go above and beyond and how far you're willing to go for your teammates to compete and battle. It comes down to that will."

Former Leafs star Wendel Clark, who is now a community representative for the franchise, addressed the group as part of the opening ceremony on Monday night. 

"He came in and did a little introduction video," said Malinoski, who was a fifth-round pick (153rd overall) in 2023. "We just saw some highlights from his career, and it was pretty fun to watch. You know, he could hit, score, do everything."

The players also received some insight on how to handle pressure from the team's mental health and peak performance consultant Marie Claire Bourque. 

"The big thing was pressure really is a privilege," said Moldenhauer. "Just treating it as a privilege because it truly is. There's not a lot of people in the world who can do what we do on a daily basis and have that at their fingertips where they can really just take advantage of it and make them better."

"You just gotta live in the moment," said Lahey, who was a seventh-round pick (200th overall) in 2024. "You really gotta embrace what you're going through and just take a second-by-second and minute-by-minute."

Leafs prospects learning how to handle pressure at development camp

Hayley Wickenheiser explains why 'winning' is 90 percent mental and some of the Maple Leafs' prospects discuss how they've handled pressure in their young careers so far.

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Jake Muzzin handled pressure well during his impressive 683-game career in the NHL. He lifted the Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2014 before playing his final five seasons with the Leafs.

Muzzin is now part of Toronto's player development staff and is taking part in on-ice sessions this week. 

"Couldn't really ask for anything better," said Chadwick, who was picked in the sixth round (185th overall) in the 2023 draft. "He's a fantastic human being. Good character. He's special to work with and passed a lot of good lessons on to me. Hopefully [I can] continue to build my game with him as I step into pro."

Muzzin is Chadwick's primary contact with the Leafs during the season and often provides feedback. 

"One of his strengths when he played was just his ability to think the game well and that's probably my biggest strength as well," Chadwick said. "We sort of talk and exchange a lot of ideas and I gained a better understanding of what to do in certain situations. And then, as well, just being a little harder, be more physical on guys and having a calmness about me on the ice and being patient with certain things."

Chadwick exuded calmness off the ice last season as he served as Hurricanes captain.

"It was a good challenge," the 20-year-old from Saskatoon said. "It's interesting being put into that role. I think I grew a lot as a person. I had to get out of my comfort zone and be vocal and challenge our players and hold them accountable as well as myself." 

His best leadership moment came in the second round of the Western Hockey League playoffs when the Hurricanes trailed the Calgary Hitmen 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. 

"We took it back home and we won that game and went to Calgary," Chadwick said. "Do-or-die moment and having that calm presence, that was my main focus, and trying to be steady and show the guys that we're not here to panic. This is our game to take and I think that went a long way with the guys. Everyone showed up and we got it done so that was very meaningful."

The Hurricanes beat the Hitmen 3-1 in Game 7.  

Muzzin's mentorship provides Leafs defence prospects a big boost 

Former Maple Leaf defenceman Jake Muzzin has been helping their prospects throughout the season and at development camp this week. Hayley Wickenheiser discusses his importance and the defenceman explain what he's been helping them with on and off the ice.

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There are some local Leafs players who are in town and making their presence felt this week including forward Scott Laughton.

"Someone who I've skated with a little bit since I've been here coming back from Michigan," said Moldenhauer, who stands 5-foot-10, 170 pounds. "Similar-sized player to me, and he's been in the NHL for 10-plus years now, so he definitely knows what he's doing out there ... He's a great guy. He came up and introduced himself to me as soon as I got on the ice." 

Moldenhauer plans to skate in Toronto the rest of the summer and is looking forward to picking Laughton's brain. 

"Just build little things he does well into my game," the 21-year-old from Mississauga, Ont. said.

One skill, in particular, is standing out so far. 

"How patient he is with the slot shots he takes," said Moldenhauer. "We were doing ... drills with releasing pucks in the slot and just watching him make it look so effortless was really cool. Just that extra split second he takes where he's not in a rush to release it and just changes the angle just a slight amount really, it opens up so much more room for him. There was one rep where he went like three in a row, just exact same slide and shot top right and I was just like, 'This guy makes it look so easy.'"

Nothing seemed to come easy for Moldenhauer last season as he recorded just three goals and seven assists in 29 games during his sophomore season. 

"Last year was a great learning curve for me," he said. "Didn't have my greatest season, but that comes with a lot of lessons. I'm really excited for this season. I put in a lot of work already and looking to continue to do that for the rest of the summer. But a lot of lessons that came back with me from last year [and] just how hard it truly is to be a great college hockey player. The last season's definitely going to benefit me as a player moving on and I'm really looking forward to next year."

Laughton's lessons help Leafs prospect Moldenhauer bounce back from down year

Nicholas Moldenhauer discusses skating with Maple Leaf Scott Laughton over the summer and what he can learn from the centreman's patience in the slot.

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While Moldenhauer struggled to get in a groove last season, Victor Johansson took off while playing for Leksands in the Swedish junior league. 

"My offensive upside is getting much better," the 19-year-old defenceman from Linkoping, Swe. said. "I just started to play more with the puck. Dared to do more things that I didn't dare to do the last season before that. That was a huge part that I changed to get better in the offensive zone."

Johansson produced seven goals and 39 points in 47 games. The previous season, he registered just two goals and eight points in 34 games. 

"He is an elite skater," said Wickenheiser. "He made some really nice plays out there with the puck. He continues to have more and more composure."

Adding 20 pounds to his 6-foot-1 frame also helped. 

"A lot in the corner battles," said Johansson, who is up to 165 pounds. "Just the battles around the ice it helps me."

How did he gain the weight?

"Pizza Sundays," he said with a grin. "We had games Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then we went out with some boys and grabbed pizza on Sundays. That's probably the secret about it. I don't know actually. I just ate a lot more food in general. I ate a lot more snacks and all that. That was a huge part of it."

Johansson's success has put him in contention for a spot on Sweden's World Junior team and he will be attending the Summer Showcase later this month in Minnesota. 

Hawaiian pizza helped Leafs prospect Johansson gain 20 pounds

Maple Leafs' prospect Victor Johansson discusses the fight at development camp and why it took him by surprise. He also shares his secret weapon that helped him gain 20 pounds this season.

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Belle is still processing the events of the last week. 

"It's been crazy," he said of being picked in the fifth round (137th overall) by the Leafs last Saturday. "I'm still kind of in shock by it all. It's been a great experience."

Like the other Leafs draft picks this year, Belle received a welcome message from captain Auston Matthews. 

"I was extremely surprised," said the 18-year-old, who is off to Notre Dame this fall. "I checked the number to see if it was the right area code. I thought somebody was messing with me, but I think it's him ... It was wild. I was not expecting that."

As a young American and the only American picked by the Leafs in this year's draft, the message from Matthews resonated even more. 

"He was a NTDP guy too," Belle said. "My two years there, we heard a lot about him, so it's been cool to watch him. He's somebody a lot of people on my team, including me, look up to."

Leafs 5th rounder Belle on text from Matthews: 'Thought somebody was messing with me'

Notre Dame freshman Will Belle was selected in the fifth round by the Maple Leafs at this year's NHL Draft. He discusses the whirlwind week since the draft and getting some special messages from a few current Maple Leafs.