There is 1:30 remaining in the first period of the Maple Leafs vs Jets contest on April 24th, 2021. The puck is dumped into the Leafs’ zone, and Rasmus Sandin is the first man back, filling in for the injured Zach Bogosian. He begins his mission to retrieve.
Blake Wheeler pursues while Sandin conservatively approaches the puck. Wheeler is unsure about what’s next - Rasmus certain. Wheeler runs into a wall, and Sandin not only helps the Leafs retrieve the puck, but he’s retrieved the hearts of Leafs fans and a permanent spot on the Leafs’ roster, maybe even as soon as the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
OK, maybe it doesn’t work out that easily for emerging prospects, but Rasmus is covering all doubt with his current level of play.
Later in the game, at the 13:30 mark of the third, Sandin watches Nylander show off his defensive skills on an odd-man rush, then prepares to help him break out the puck. Sandin takes a pass from Nylander and his composure takes center stage.
Channelling his inner Morgan Rielly, he activates the breakout with his feet and locks in his target - Nylander, the forward he’s still ahead of in the play.
There are Jets forecheckers only strides away, but Sandin acts as though there isn’t, drawing their eyes to the puck and giving them no choice but to guess his next move.
A second later, Nylander is over the blueline and ready for the puck, Sandin has a lane and uses it to spring Willy and Tavares on a 2-on-1. The Leafs go up 3-1 on their new division rivals.
Halfway through the game, playing on the third pair, Sandin has made his presence felt. His ability to read the play with and without the puck is drawing the attention of the decision-makers. A few games later, he’s pencilled into the lineup in place of a resting Morgan Rielly.
About six minutes into this game against the Canucks, Sandin is seen sprawling to break up an odd man-rush, channelling his inner T.J. Brodie. Throughout the game, Sandin and Brodie put on a breakout clinic. They maintain possession below their own goal line, they don’t crack under pressure, and they support each other as the other steps up in the neutral zone to prevent a zone entry.
At 17:04 of the second period, now back to imitating Rielly, Sandin jumps into the rush.
In the above frame, he is shown beating the Canuck back-checkers into the zone and receiving the pass. In the below frame, he is shown beating the back-checkers and defenders to the net, after setting up Pierre Engvall, vaulting the Leafs into a three-goal lead.
Sandin finishes the game with over 21 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time, having helped the Leafs control 74% of the chances and 88% of the expected goals while on the ice, in addition to having a plus-two rating and an assist. In his five games since rejoining the lineup, the Leafs have controlled 60% of the chances, 62% of the expected goals, and 74% of the high danger chances with Sandin on the ice.
This is a player who, after a long layoff, fractured his foot this very season. He’s played even less than other prospects in similar positions over the past year, and yet, he helped T.J. Brodie have one of his most effective games of the year. Rielly was in the press box, but shades of what he can do with the puck, and then some, were on the ice with Rasmus Sandin.
The sample size is small but his confidence looms large.
The Colorado Avalanche once had a young defencemen shine in a handful of games. It prompted the trading of Tyson Barrie, their number one-59 point defenceman.
Sandin might not be in the running for the Norris Trophy in a few years like Cale Makar is now but the composure shown in his tryouts, even when given Rielly minutes, might be enough to push the Leafs down the same path - this time on the winning side of such a trade.
The present is first and foremost, however, and Rielly - the heart and soul of this team - should unite with a d-core that includes Sandin.