Marlies report: Who's ready for a call-up to the Maple Leafs? - The Athletic
Brett Seney
One way to think about Seney is that he might be this season’s version of Kenny Agostino.
Agostino was an offensive winger in the AHL and had a few NHL stints before getting to the Marlies. He produced at nearly a point-per-game clip during his two Marlies seasons but was only called up for one Leafs game.
After a disappointing 2020-21 season with the Binghamton Devils in which he notched 10 points in 30 games, Seney is so far filling Agostino’s role as a skilled top-line winger. He leads all forwards with nine goals and 14 points in 17 games.
At 5-foot-9, he’s not exactly the most physical player, but he’s shown some tenaciousness off the puck. That’s thanks to the Marlies showing more trust in him in the defensive zone than perhaps he got while in the Devils organization. That, in turn, has helped his confidence and production.
“It’s always nice to get that fresh start in a new organization and get a new set of eyes on you,” said Seney, who was drafted in the sixth round of the 2015 NHL draft. “For (six years), you tend to hear the same thing over and over again. When you do get a fresh set of eyes on you and you’re working with a different staff and working with different development coaches, they see things that maybe the other team didn’t.”
One interesting element of Seney’s time with the Marlies is how, while only 25, he’s become a leading veteran voice on a team of developing players. Could that maturity help his cause with a possible Leafs call-up?
“If you had to ask me, without knowing, I wouldn’t guess he was 25. He is very mature for his age. He definitely has a lot of leadership qualities and just professional qualities,” said Marlies head coach Greg Moore.
He’s taken the time to have multiple in-depth conversations with Semyon Der-Arguchintsev and Mikhail Abramov and has come to more of an understanding of what will land him time with the Leafs.
“You’ve got to be able to be responsible defensively. And you have got to have that trust where, if you need a goal, the team’s able to get you out there. But if you’re trying to hold on to lead, they also trust that you can also play the right way,” Seney said.
Carl Dahlstrom
There haven’t been a lot of surprises with the 26-year-old defenceman this season, and there probably wouldn’t be in the event of a call-up. He’s a plug-and-play veteran of 64 NHL games with the Blackhawks and Jets.
One of the stories of Dahlstrom’s season lately has been how Moore has continually played Dahlstrom alongside young defenders, including Joey Duszak and Matt Hellickson.
Dahlstrom can read plays reasonably well and use his size (6-foot-4, 222 pounds) when needed. He’s not a flashy player, which is why he’s often also been paired with more inexperienced, offensively-minded defencemen this season like Mac Hollowell and Noel Hoefenmayer. All of Dahlstrom’s three assists this season came in one game on Nov. 27. For that reason, I can’t see Keefe wanting to give him a ton of playing time.
His versatility makes him attractive though, as he can play both the left and the right side on defence. Dahlstrom sees himself making more of an impact defensively on the left side and offensively on the right side.
“It makes me more agile and coaches can put me in all these different types of situations,” said Dahlstrom.
He’s probably in contention for a call-up with 33-year-old right shot defenceman Alex Biega, who has 241 games of NHL experience with the Canucks and Red Wings.
Dahlstrom might have the edge because of his mobility and his size, but Biega’s smarts put him in the conversation too.