Toronto Maple Leafs players reveal the key changes that head coach Craig Berube has brought to the team

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Tyler Ball
September 21, 2024 (6:59 PM)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs training camp is now in full swing and players are starting to reveal the biggest changes that Craig Berube has brought to the table.

This summer, the Toronto Maple Leafs underwent a lot of changes, including firing former head coach Sheldon Keefe. The belief was that Sheldon Keefe was too laid back to lead this Maple Leafs group to a Stanley Cup. As a result, a more veteran and hard-nosed head coach was brought in with the hiring of Craig Berube.

Now, months later, the Toronto Maple Leafs have finally taken the ice. This has given players their first opportunity to see how Craig Berube operates. As expected he is bringing a more intense style to practice in particular. One major change made already has been the removal of music during practice that was common under Sheldon Keefe.

This change along with other mentality changes has been seen by media, fans, and of course the players. The early returns from players include a lot of excitement for the future.

Maple Leafs players give glowing reviews to Craig Berube for increased intensity

After today's practice, many of the Toronto Maple Leafs players were asked about their new head coach. The first to step forward and comment was forward Ryan Reaves. He started out by revealing that this training camp is top two in intensity in his entire career.

Today was in my top two - and it probably wasn't two, said Reaves, who is entering Season 15 of his career. "It was a good day, though. It sends a message to the team right away of what our identity is going to be, and I think guys enjoyed that battle

Ryan Reaves continued and mentioned that this style of training camp could help even superstar players like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander endure playing against high-intensity teams.

I love being in the corners and grinding. I think it's going to drag some of those skill guys into that kind of game. Maybe get them a little uncomfortable right away.

The compliments for Craig Berube aren't just coming from familiar faces like Ryan Reaves. Newcomer Max Pacioretty who is in training camp on a player tryout also talked about the intensity. He admitted that this version of the Maple Leafs looks like a team hungry to win and take their compete level higher and higher.

He's setting the tone right there from Day 1, said PTO Max Pacioretty winger. This is a team that wants to come out of the gates and show they have a whole new compete level.

All of these comments echo exactly what Craig Berube is hoping to get out of training camp. Playing in an NHL game players are going to be in uncomfortable situations regardless of how talented they are. Craig Berube's main goal is to prepare his players to be able to handle those moments.

It's just learning that you are going to be uncomfortable a lot of times in games. You have to work and compete under those circumstances.

It sounds as though the Toronto Maple Leafs will be a much more difficult team to play against in the 2024-25 NHL season. It will be fascinating to see if the grit and toughness that fans and media have been begging for over the past couple of seasons translates to wins.