More playoff rounds for Marlies? Maple Leafs will drink to that

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Published May 14, 2026  •  3 minute read

Members of the Toronto Marlies celebrate a goal during the first game of their series against the Rochester Americans at Coca Cola Coliseum in Toronto on April 22, 2026. Photo by Barry McCluskey /Barry McCluskey

Few players connected to the Maple Leafs had cause for a celebratory drink this season.

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So, when a can of beer landed near Dakota Mermis last week, fired from the stands by an angry Laval Rocket fan after the Marlies had won the playoff series, the defenceman saw no reason the suds should go to waste.

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“It was something that happened after an emotional series, with a lot of bad blood,” Mermis said with a grin after Marlies practice on Wednesday. “Things started coming over the glass at us, one that landed at my feet. I did what anyone would do.”

He took a swig – or pretended to – and tossed it aside as an exclamation point on the deciding Game 5 elimination of the North Division leaders, farm team of the Canadiens, on their ice. The video was very popular with Leaf fans

“It was just ‘cheers’ on a good series,” Mermis teased. “(Whoever threw it) could’ve been a little more generous (there wasn’t much remaining in the can).”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR MARLIES

The whole Game 5 comeback experience in the 3-2 result gave the Marlies a bit more swagger, a second series’ win, starting with a best-of-three against Rochester that went the distance. Now it’s another best-of-five in the North final starting Thursday in Cleveland against the Monsters, affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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It’s extra runway for the young Leafs who finished the season in Toronto, such as Easton Cowan, Jacob Quillan and William Villeneuve, more hockey for Bo Groulx, Ryan Tverberg and the 32-year-old Mermis, who has 10 years of minor league hockey peppered with 89 NHL games, 11 with this year’s Leafs.

There is a chance that 2024 Leaf first-rounder (31st overall) Ben Danford gets a game after his junior season ended last week with Brantford.

MONSTER ASSIGNMENT

“I like our energy,” coach John Gruden said before boarding the bus for Ohio. “Cleveland is a four- line team, quicker probably (than Laval), not as big and physical, but they continue to get better since the arrival of Brendan Gaunce and (ex-Leaf) Zach Aston-Reese, two veterans who’ve stabilized their front end.

“We can’t fall into a track meet kind of game; we have to bring a little bit of what we did against Laval. We didn’t shy away from the physicality, and our guys had no problem sticking up for each other.”

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Gruden got a kick out of Mermis’s beer gag.

“I got texts about that and he got more than any other time (in his career). It was spur-of-the-moment brilliant.”

Read More

1. 

   Many Maple Leafs lament Craig Berube’s exit as questions surround what comes next

2. 

   How Artur Akhtyamov has been a shining light for Marlies in the AHL playoffs

3. 

   Marlies beat Laval, advance to AHL’s North Division final

WHAT JOHN CHAYKA THINKS

Watching all of this bonus assessment time, just two weeks into their job, are Leaf general manager John Chayka and senior executive advisor Mats Sundin.

“Anytime you get people playing in the summer, it’s a good thing,” Chayka said. “If you look back when we’ve gone deeper (the late 2010s with Sheldon Keefe’s Marlies winning the 2018 Calder Cup), we produce more prospects.

“I do think there’s an element of the flywheel where the more they play, the more higher-leverage situations they get in, the better they perform and the more they learn.

“I’m proud of that group, what (assistant Leaf GM) Ryan Hardy and John Gruden have done. There are some good players and I look forward to watching them.”

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