Craig Berube outlines first impressions of Dakota Joshua, Nicolas Roy, Matias Maccelli as Leafs’ camp nears

It’s always important to make a strong first impression and Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube appears to be enthusiastic about his team’s new additions.

Berube spoke to Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star where he outlined his impressions of Matias Maccelli, Nicolas Roy and Dakota Joshua, while noting that there won’t be a direct replacement for Mitch Marner.

“You don’t replace the player, right? I mean, Mitch Marner is a great player,” Berube said. “He’s a good all-around player, touched all scenarios of the game for us.

“But what we did do is we added some depth to our team with (Nicolas) Roy, (Dakota) Joshua and (Matias) Maccelli. We added depth. We’re going to see where everybody fits.”

Berube seemed to indicate that Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews would remain together, at least initially, while John Tavares and William Nylander would be paired together on the team’s second line. One of the most compelling storylines entering training camp will be determining who will get the first reps alongside Knies and Matthews, with Maccelli and Max Domi as leading candidates. Berube told McGran that he envisions Maccelli on the second power play unit as well.

“He’s a real good playmaker,” Berube said of Maccelli. “Sees the ice well, makes plays. For me, it’s about seeing him more and seeing where he fits in. I’m not sure yet.”

As for Joshua, it’s not a true first impression as he played under Berube with the St. Louis Blues.

“I had Dak in St. Louis and the last year I coached him he scored 10 goals,” Berube said. “He was really coming as a player, as a big, physical guy. He has the ability to score some goals. He touches the defensive side of things. We’re going to rely heavily on him being a good heavy forecheck player and a hard guy to play against. And he became a pretty good penalty killer in Vancouver. He is a good add for us.”

Roy was acquired by the Maple Leafs in the trade for Marner, and fills a void as a right-shot centre who plays with some physicality as well.

“He moves up and down the lineup a little,” Berube said of Roy. “He can penalty-kill, take faceoffs, defensive responsibilities. He’s a good checker. He’s got size and reach, but he’s got sneaky hands around the net.”

We’ll get a better sense of what Berube is looking for during training camp, but it’s clear that he’s expecting the incumbents on the roster to understand his systems, while expecting the new additions to fit specific roles seamlessly.