Most Toronto Maple Leafs’ players are taking some extended downtime with their families while goalie Jack Campbell and Auston Matthews hang out in Las Vegas for the NHL’s weekend’s All-Star festivities. Already it’s been fun to catch some of the action the two Maple Leafs’ representatives were involved in.
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As a result of the lack of game action and the news that comes with it, it seemed like a good time to share some commentary that’s a bit divorced from game action. In this post, I’ll share news about Nick Robertson’s return to the ice after his earlier broken leg this season. Second, I’ll comment on Jack Campbell’s culinary skills. Finally, I’ll look at what NHL teams – according to Google searches – are the most popular globally.
Item One: Nick Robertson Is Back in the Toronto Marlies’ Lineup
Nick Robertson finally returned to the ice for game action on Wednesday as his Toronto Marlies beat Grand Rapids by a score of 4-3. Robertson’s had nothing but bad luck with injuries over the past couple of seasons and this season was no different. Is that injury history risking his status as one of the top prospects in the Maple Leafs’ organization?
He broke his leg during the Marlies’ season opener on October 17 and only now – almost four months later – has he returned to action. While he didn’t have a point in the victory, he did throw a couple of shots on the net. He’ll be in action this afternoon when the Marlies play Rochester. At some point, will the Maple Leafs give up on him as a prospect and see him more as trade bait?
Item Two: Jack Campbell Loves to Be in the Kitchen, But He Doesn’t Make Soup
If Maple Leafs’ fans ever cared about what Jack Campbell does in his off-ice times, we got a hint in a recent article written by the NHL Players’ Association. The answer is that he loves to relax in front of the television with his girlfriend, and his favorite shows are Ozark and Yellowstone.
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However, and who would have guessed given his nickname, he also likes to hang out in the kitchen. According to a recent article by Chris Lomon of the National Hockey League Players Association, Campbell’s no slouch in the kitchen at all. In fact, he’s dedicating some of his off-ice time to improving his culinary skills.
What’s Campbell’s signature dish? He loves to cook Chilean sea bass.
As Campbell noted, “That’s my special treat. I only cook that one a couple of times a year. But with cooking, it’s something that keeps me busy throughout the year. It gets your mind off hockey. I think that’s important. It’s something I enjoy doing and I try to get better at it each time I’m doing it.”
Item Three: Most Googled Team in the World? The Maple Leafs
An article yesterday from The Hockey News reported that the Maple Leafs were the most googled team in the entire NHL. As The Hockey News reported, they’re not surprised.
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According to The Hockey News, SportsHandle released data on the most-search NHL teams according to Google, and it showed that the Toronto franchise was at “the top of fans’ minds in different regions across Canada and the United States.”
The Maple Leafs elicited 1,500,000 searches from Canada alone. Toronto also was the most-searched team globally as well and led Google searches in 28 other countries. Surprisingly, the United Kingdom came in second place with 18,100 Google searches.
The second-most searched team in the world, according to SportsHandle, was the Washington Capitals who led Google searches in 16 countries. A tip of the hat here goes to the popularity of the Capitals’ Russian star Alex Ovechkin. Obviously, the Capitals were the most searched team in Russia.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
At the All-Star Game, Maple Leafs’ goalie Jack Campbell and Andrei Vasilevskiy combined to make nine consecutive saves to win the Dunkin’ NHL Save Streak for the Atlantic Division at the 2022 NHL All-Star Skills last night.
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In a comment that was so him, Campbell noted that “It was really cool. Seeing ‘Vasy’ at the other end, he’s been so dominant in the league, especially in shootouts over however long he’s been in the league. We just had a lot of fun together and we set the bar and I was trying to do my part.”
Good luck this weekend to both Campbell and to Auston Matthews.