Luke Haymes Is Leaving Himself Notes — And One Big Goal

Luke Haymes knows the odds aren’t exactly in his favour. The Toronto Maple Leafs have a crowded forward group, and with a shorter pre-season this year, there won’t be many chances for prospects to force their way into the opening-night lineup. Haymes, though, doesn’t seem particularly interested in worrying about the math. He has a simpler approach: write down the goal, put it somewhere he can see it and keep working toward it.

Haymes is apparently a big Post-it note guy. He keeps his reminders outside his bedroom door so he sees them every time he leaves. A couple of years ago, the note said NHL draft. That one didn’t work out. This year’s goal is considerably harder: make the Maple Leafs out of training camp. The 23-year-old centre is coming off a solid first full professional season with the Marlies, helped Toronto win the Calder Cup and got into four NHL games last season, recording one assist.

Haymes Is Making His Case One Shift at a Time.

Haymes gave Toronto a pretty good example of what he wants to show in the prospect challenge opener against Ottawa. He scored the tying goal by getting to the front of the net and stuffing home a bouncing puck after Blake Smith’s point shot created traffic. It wasn't a highlight-reel goal, but that was almost the point. Haymes has written down reminders to himself about becoming a goal scorer, getting around the net, winning faceoffs and playing a responsible 200-foot game. This was one of those goals that checked several boxes at once.

He was also used in just about every situation by new Marlies head coach Steve Sullivan, including the power play, penalty kill and four-on-three. Sullivan came away impressed with the overall game, calling Haymes a 200-foot player and noting that he remained involved right to the end. Haymes himself thought he did a good job in the faceoff circle and showed the mature, two-way game he believes he needs to make the jump.

There’s No Spot Waiting for Haymes, But He’s Giving It His Best.

That doesn't mean the Maple Leafs suddenly have a roster spot waiting for him. Far from it. Toronto's forward depth makes this a tough assignment, especially with fewer exhibition games to make an impression. But Haymes isn't being asked to solve the roster math. He's being asked to make the decision a little harder for the evaluators.

For a player who already knows what he wants written on that Post-it note, that's probably the best approach he can take.