Auston Matthews returned to practice and nearly took part in a full session. The question is how much longer? After the Toronto Marlies defeated the Belleville Senators on Saturday, head coach John Gruden's vacation plans were ruined. In a good way. Toronto secured first in the AHL's North Division after winning in Belleville, meaning Gruden would be a head coach at the AHL All-Star game in Thousand Palms, California, on Feb. 2 and 3. "There's only one thing I'm a little disappointed in," Gruden told his team in the dressing room with a smile on Saturday after their win in Belleville [https://www.instagram.com/torontomarlies/reel/DEJbeBFO_l2/], "is the fact that I gotta cancel my trip..." This is the first time Gruden will go to the AHL All-Star Classic as a head coach. On Monday, two days after being named to the event, the 54-year-old said the recognition isn't just about him. "It's a team thing and it's a staff thing. Not just the assistant coaches, but the goalie coaches, video coaches, and everyone that travels," he said. "It's such a huge part and it makes my job, and our job, a lot easier. 100 percent I wish I could take them all [to the All-Star game]." Before Gruden joined the Marlies as head coach, he was an assistant with the Boston Bruins for one season. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach with the New York Islanders for four years. Gruden began his head coaching career with the OHL's Flint Firebirds before moving to the Hamilton Bulldogs the year following. He won the OHL Championship with the Bulldogs in 2018, which catapulted him into an NHL job. In two seasons with the Marlies, Gruden has a 51-31-12-5 record. He's learned a lot through that time, and admitted following practice on Monday, that he's always picking up new things as a head coach in the AHL. "I think you learn every day. This is a different league than per se being an assistant in the NHL for me, or even a head coach at the OHL level because you're still developing, but you kind of have your team set," Gruden said. "Here, there's so much movement of guys coming up and down, some guys you gotta get to know them personally, as far as, are they just happy to be here or do they want to become better? Do they want to get to the Leafs? Do they want another contract? You gotta get what ticks for each guy, and at the end of the day, with good people and guys that want to work, and our focus as coaches is to coach whoever is on that ice. "It's harder to understand that part of it, but we're also happy when guys get called up. We're excited for them. And at the end of the day, we're excited for whoever is in that lineup to try to help them become better versions of themselves." [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2paxxmma63k[/embed] Marlies forward Joseph Blandisi, who's an assistant captain with the club, says Gruden makes the rink an enjoyable place to be every single day. "There's not many bad days around here. He knows when to lay the hammer, when the time is right. But, it doesn't happen too often," said Blandisi. "I think just with the amount of bodies that we have, it's gotta be a pretty hard job to keep everybody happy, but I think he does the best he can." Even Dennis Hildeby — who spends more time with Marlies goalie coach Hannu Toivonen than Gruden — can see the type of atmosphere his AHL head coach brings to the team every day. "He has a good balance when it comes to being a coach and being himself. He's a funny guy to be around, plus he takes his job very seriously." But as Gruden mentioned, this isn't an individual award. It's a team honor. It's an accolade for the players, coaches, and the rest of Toronto's staff. Hildeby has worked tirelessly over the last couple of seasons with Toivonen, which in turn has led to strong numbers and a few NHL call-ups. "We got a good dialogue. We both come with ideas. We're both open to new ideas and having a discussion about it. It's a casual, not very serious relationship. There's a good mix of all that," Hildeby said. "There's no musts, like, 'You must do this.' He tries to work for me and work together to find a good game that fits me. Plus, [Toivonen is] Finnish, which should be a bad thing honestly because there's a rivalry. *smiles*" As we approach the midpoint way in Toronto's season, there are a lot of positives: They've gotten strong goaltending, they have a deep team, and now, an AHL All-Star head coach. Only one person is representing Toronto thus far, but it's likely a couple more Marlies will be joining Gruden in Thousand Palms in early February. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjExNjM5NDEwNTc4NDM0MDI0/googlenews.svg] Stay updated with the most interesting Maple Leafs stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwytvfCA?ceid=CA:en&oc=3] to never miss a story.
