Maple Leafs' Bobby McMann Lifting His Way Into a Bigger Role

If you watch Bobby McMann shift-to-shift instead of highlight-to-highlight, you start to see the story forming. He isn’t loud about it. He doesn’t wave his arms after a hit or stand over someone after a battle. Instead, he keeps showing up, night after night, doing the things that keep coaches leaning forward on the bench. And over the last couple of weeks, it feels like everything he touches has a little more authority to it.

Five points in six games, goals in back-to-back outings, and a handful of moments where he decided a shift was going to go his way. For a player who once looked like not much more than a nice depth option, McMann suddenly looks like someone determined to stay in the top six and make people uncomfortable if they try moving him out of it.

Here are three reasons he can grow into a bigger role with the team.

Reason 1: McMann Plays With the Kind of Detail Berube Wants Everywhere

McMann’s game is rooted in small, honest details. The goal against the Kings this week starts with a turnover — his turnover. But, instead of sagging or circling away, he hunted the puck right back, turned it into a breakaway, and scored. As a coach, you gotta love that sequence. Berube especially loves that sequence. It shows accountability, a work ethic, and the ability to finish all in one shift.

Even when he’s not scoring, he’s beating icings, extending plays, and giving the Maple Leafs something they haven’t had enough of lately: predictable effort. In a lineup searching for nightly consistency, he’s become one of the safest bets.

Reason 2: McMann Is Producing Like a Player Who Belongs Higher in the Lineup

McMann has rattled off goals at meaningful moments. These include a game-winner against Pittsburgh, a power-play marker versus Boston, and one early in the opener against Montreal. He’s sitting on seven points and a tidy plus-rating while throwing close to 50 hits already.

He’s streaky, sure, but he’s also trending the right way. His production last season (20 goals, 34 points) wasn’t a fluke. The underlying habits and shooting percentages were repeatable. What you’re seeing now is a continuation, not a surprise.

Reason 3: McMann Is Speedy Enough to Fit Naturally With Skilled Players

Some players get bumped into the top six and immediately look like tourists. McMann isn’t one of them. Whether he’s riding shotgun with John Tavares and William Nylander or filling in around the edges, he doesn’t change who he is. He wins the puck, hands it to the talent, drives the net, and arrives on time.

And that matters. Skilled players play better when they trust the guy doing the grunt work.

The Bottom Line: McMann Is Earning This, Shift by Shift

McMann may never be introduced as a “core” Maple Leaf, but he’s working himself into a role that matters. For him, it’s a chance you don’t give away lightly. On a team still trying to define its identity under head coach Craig Berube, he’s one of the players actually pushing in the right direction.

If he keeps this up, the question won’t be whether he belongs in the top six. The question is what player you’re willing to move to make room for him.