With the Toronto Marlies advancing to the Calder Cup final, how does this team compare to the 2018 Calder Cup champions, and what staff members or players are destined for the NHL?
The Toronto Marlies have booked their ticket to the AHL's Calder Cup final after defeating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 2-1 in overtime on Sunday night, ending the Eastern Conference final series in six games.
The Marlies now await the winner between the Colorado Eagles and Chicago Wolves to kick off their first Calder Cup final appearance since 2018.
Plenty has changed since the Marlies won their first Calder Cup in 2018. Several members of the team's staff earned NHL roles, either with the Toronto Maple Leafs or elsewhere, and the same can be said for a handful of the players.
In 2018, Kyle Dubas was the GM of the Marlies, and Sheldon Keefe was the head coach of the team. The very next season after winning the Calder Cup, Dubas became GM of the Maple Leafs, and Keefe was promoted to coach them in 2019-20.
While they haven't won any Stanley Cups since or any notable playoff runs, they've led the Maple Leafs to some excellent regular seasons. In fact, the Dubas and Keefe Leafs are responsible for three of Toronto's six best NHL seasons in franchise history. That includes the top two, with a 115-point campaign in 2021-22 and a 111-point season in 2022-23.
GM Ryan Hardy runs this year's Marlies team, and John Gruden is the head coach. Hardy has been the GM of the Marlies since 2021-22, while this is Gruden's third year as the bench boss.
After the Maple Leafs fired Brad Treliving, Hardy, alongside Brandon Pridham, was co-GM of the NHL team to finish out the year. Before that, Hardy had been an assistant GM for four seasons.
As for Gruden, with the head coaching vacancy with the Maple Leafs, he could very well be a candidate to lead the NHL team from behind the bench next season. For the most part, coaches who win the Calder Cup get an opportunity in the NHL.
Examples of that would be Jon Cooper, Jared Bednar, Jeff Blashill, Ryan Warsofsky and now Manny Malhotra. Even further down the line in history, Todd McLellan, John Tortorella, Peter Laviolette, Barry Trotz, and others have won the Calder Cup and had notable careers behind an NHL bench.
So, for the Marlies' Gruden, a promotion could be in the fold in the near future.
In terms of the Marlies roster that won the 2018 Calder Cup, there are several familiar names that went on to become NHL regulars not long after.
Many players on that team have played over 300 NHL games, including the likes of Trevor Moore, Justin Holl, Mason Marchment, Kasperi Kapanen, Travis Dermott, Timothy Liljegren, Pierre Engvall and Carl Grundstrom.
This year's team has more veterans on the roster compared to the 2018 winning team. However, there are still some youngsters who could make an impression in the NHL one day.
Players such as Easton Cowan and Jacob Quillan have already stuck their foot in the door with the Maple Leafs and will likely get plenty more opportunities next year.
In addition, Luke Haymes, Ryan Tverberg, Noah Chadwick, and, of course, the strong goaltending tandem of Artur Akhtyamov and Dennis Hildeby could be destined for the NHL in the coming years.
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