Two Changes to Leafs' Practice Routine Under Craig Berube Sitting Very Well With the Players
During Sheldon Keefe's tenure with the Leafs, some players were not thrilled with one aspect of his practices and are glad Craig Berube has changed it.
One of the first changes Craig Berube made when he took over as Leafs' head coach was removing music from practice, which was a controversial topic when Sheldon Keefe first introduced it. Mitch Marner and Ryan Reaves were among the biggest supporters of music during practice, but with the main focus of practice being on a grind mentality under Berube, it only made sense for the team to cease the use of their audio aid to keep the focus where it needs to be -- on the work.
Two other changes Berube has made were shortening practices to roughly 30 minutes, and starting them an hour earlier, both of which Morgan Rielly and Simon Benoit said they appreciated. In speaking with The Athletic, Rielly and Benoit both revealed that the start times and length of Keefe's practices quietly caused some displeasure among the players as they believed they were too long. Jonas Siegel noted in his piece that Keefe-led practices began at noon when the Leafs were in Toronto, and later than that when they were on the road. While Berube's practices start earlier, at 11am.
Benoit supported Rielly's comments, noting that he was already awake thanks to recently becoming a father.
While the no music at practice is what caught most of the attention from the Toronto media, the subtle changes in practice time and length have been appreciated more by the players as it allows them to stay in more of a routine regardless of if they are at home or on the road. The Leafs have struggled mightily the past two games, which means their practice on Friday will almost certainly a very quick, but intense skate as they look to rebound on Saturday against the Boston Bruins.
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