Mitch Marner has never lacked energy.
Fans used to take notice as he stood up on the Maple Leafs’ bench early in his rookie season, waiting for his next shift.
In junior hockey with the London Knights, opponents used to wait for him to wear down in the third period like they did. It never happened. Visiting team coaches could not believe how Marner’s last shift of the game was as fast and fresh as his first.
Marner dazzled in his inaugural year in the National Hockey League.
Now, he will get to show off his skill on the international stage again.
Even with talk of how exhausting this past season was for any of the young Maple Leafs, Marner is headed to Paris to play for Team Canada at the 2017 World Hockey Championship.
The Thornhill native wore the red and white maple leaf twice before pulling the blue and white version over his head. He played for Team Ontario at the 2014 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge and Team Canada at the 2016 World Junior Hockey Championship.
Neither experience was medal-winning.
At the age of 16, an overtime loss in the round-robin kept Team Ontario out of the medal round.
As a 19-year-old in Helsinki at the World Juniors, Marner scored four goals and had six points in five games. His last two goals of the tournament brought Canada into a 5-5 tie with the hosts and eventual champions from Finland, but Patrik Laine’s goal with 5:50 left in the third period, sent Team Canada home with a sixth-place finish.
Marner and Laine were part of a very exciting rookie class in the NHL this year. Marner and Laine were among a quartet that included Marner’s teammates, Auston Matthews and William Nylander, that ran away from the rest of the pack in the rookie scoring race. All of them topped the 60-point mark.
Marner will not be playing alongside any current or former teammates with the Maple Leafs or with the London Knights, but Travis Konecny of Clachan and Varna’s Ryan O’Reilly have already been announced as members of the Canadian roster.
Tampa Bay Lightning head coach, John Cooper will run the Team Canada bench in France. Gerard Gallant, the first head coach of the Las Vegas Golden Knights, will be one of the assistants. Flyers’ head coach Dave Hakstol and Canadian coaching veteran, Dave King, will fill out the other slots on the staff.
Right now, Calvin Pickard of the Colorado Avalanche, and Eric Comrie of the Winnipeg Jets are listed as the team’s goaltenders.
Canada will take part in a training camp in Geneva, Switzerland, and play a pre-tournament game on May 2 against the Swiss.
The tournament begins for real for Marner and Team Canada on Friday, May 5, against the Czech Republic.
Canada enters as the defending champions after capturing gold in Russia last year with a team captained by former London Knight, Corey Perry.
Canada has won the World Championship 20 times.
Marner will be doing everything in his power to help his country make it 21.
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