TORONTO - Brandon Kozun went from on the bubble to on the team.Flashing his speed and offensive skills, Kozun took what was likely the final step to shoring up a spot on the Maple Leafs opening-night roster with another strong performance in Torontos pre-season finale.The five-foot-eight, 167-pound winger had a goal and two assists in the Leafs 5-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night and continued to stand out in a crowded forward group. Coach Randy Carlyle called Kozuns play desperate and meant it in a good way.Hes very noticeable, and we think that hes gotten more comfortable, Carlyle said. Hes making life difficult for the opposition and making life easy for the coaching staff and management to notice him.The 24-year-old Kozun set up Jake Gardiners goal with a drop pass and a pick on a Red Wings defender, fed captain Dion Phaneuf for one of his two goals and scored on a nifty back-hander past ex-Leafs goaltender Jonas Gustavsson.Kozun finished the pre-season with five points (two goals, three assists) and very well may have made 26-year-old winger Matt Frattin expendable. Even with a surplus of forwards on one-way contracts, Kozun has played well enough to stick around against the odds.Im coming here with that attitude that Ive got to work as hard as I can, said Kozun, who didnt say if he thought he did enough to make the roster. Those decisions are out of my hand. Just going to try and get better and hopefully I can help the team in any way possible.Phaneuf finished with three points and just missed out on a hat trick on a night Kozun, Gardiner and James van Riemsdyk each scored for the Leafs.Getting a final tune-up before Wednesdays season opener against the Montreal Canadiens, Jonathan Bernier stopped 19 of the 20 shots he faced. Bernier said he felt better in his second full exhibition game than in his first.Xavier Oullet had the lone goal for the Red Wings, who experienced travel delays leaving Detroit and getting through Toronto traffic from the airport to the arena. The team arrived at about 6:45 p.m., and the game was delayed by about 15 minutes as a result.One of the Leafs biggest off-season additions, 37-year-old defenceman Stephane Robidas, looked good in making his pre-season debut after working back from a broken leg suffered in last years playoffs. Robidas played on the top pair with Phaneuf, where hes expected to be at the start of the regular season.I felt pretty good, Robidas said. Honestly I didnt know really what to expect. I felt great physically and mentally before the game.Carlyle said it wasnt the plan for Robidas to play 19 minutes 26 seconds in his first game action since April.But hes a hockey player, the Leafs coach said. He has that calming effect. Hes a competitive guy. Hes not a real flashy guy, but he does make real smart play. Hes got a high IQ for the game.Winger Josh Leivo, another surprise candidate to make the 23-man roster, left the ice for medical attention in the second after blocking a shot but returned later in the period.Toronto finished the pre-season 5-2-1.___Follow @SWhyno on Twitter
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Nike Roshe Flyknit Homme . Although head coach Randy Carlyle jokingly wondered how much actual training Bolland got done while in London. "I dont know how much training goes on when you go back to the junior team that you played for so I wouldnt read too much into that," laughed Carlyle after the Maple Leafs were put through an up-tempo practice that concluded with a 10-minute bag skate on Thursday.SARASOTA, Florida – On a pristine, cloudless Saturday morning before his Blue Jays took to the field to play the Orioles, manager John Gibbons assumed his familiar perch behind home plate to watch his charges take batting practice. That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. To his left stood his high school baseball coach, Syl Perez and on his right, Frank Arnold, Gibbons high school football coach. The two are spending these early days of camp with the man they mentored. Its a chance for the men to catch up, reminisce about old times, and for Gibbons to share his pro experience with two people whove helped him along the way. "Your high school years are very big years in forming who youre going to be," Gibbons told TSN.ca. "When youre in athletics, if you get the right guys, it can steer you the right direction, teach you discipline, the work ethic and all the right stuff that benefit you in life." Arnold, 72, is a legend in Texas high school football, a state where "football is king," as Gibbons likes to remind the uninitiated. Gibbons played but didnt start at MacArthur High School in San Antonio. He was a running back, although in hindsight, Arnold thinks Gibbons was better suited to play linebacker because he was athletically inclined and had good instincts. Arnold also took notice, almost immediately, of Gibbons upbringing, especially his supportive parents, William and Sally. "Great kid, great family, never had, you know you have some parents who are a little overbearing, his parents were right there to support him," said Arnold. He had a knack for baseball, although Gibbons admits he was a late bloomer, especially offensively. A senior catcher graduated after Gibbons sophomore season, a year in which Gibbons played the outfield, and Perez had someone else pegged as the teams next catcher. Gibbons was still an unknown commodity. The coaching staff tried him at third base. It wasnt the right fit. "I dont care where I put John Gibbons, he was a catcher," said Perez. "I mean, it was in his DNA. He carries himself like a catcher." Perez had Gibbons and the would-be catching successor get behind the plate and simulate throwing out base stealers. "I timed him," said Perez. "From the time the sound hit the mitt to the time it hit the shortstop or second baseman at the bag. The other young man was very accurate but John was kind of like a Nolan Ryan. He was not very accurate, or not as accurate, but he would only average two seconds and sometimes slightly less than that. The other kid was 2.3, 2.4." Funny thing, Gibbons ended up catching that year. The other kid played third base. Both were all district at the end of the season, Gibbons in spite of a batting average below .200. He was that good defensively. His game rounded into form in his senior year, thanks to a scout named Buzzy Keller, who in advance of the baseball season, instructed Perez on a new hitting pphilosophy featuring a more compact swing.dddddddddddd Perez coached up Gibbons and the results were immediate. "John batted .500 in 19 games and he hit 10 home runs," said Perez. "Its not that he hit 10 home runs, its how far he hit those 10 home runs that really got him to be a lot more noticed. A lot of our practices were very, very well attended and of course, he went 24th overall in the first round (1980) to the Mets." A series of injuries derailed Gibbons big league playing career, the nail in the coffin being the Mets acquisition of Gary Carter before the 1985 season. He stayed around the game, coached at various levels over a number of years, and by 2004, was into his first run as manager of the Blue Jays. "Hes old school and the old school way of thinking is, good catchers become good managers," said Perez. "Theyre the only ones looking the other way at the entire defence. Lets face it, he may have been not a starter in his major league life but when hes in the bullpen catching and working with folks like the Dwight Goodens and such, Im sure hes going to learn some things." Gibbons credits Arnold and Perez with teaching him some of the tactics he employs to this day. "You get to this level, its a little different," said Gibbons. "Guys are very successful when they get to this level so theyve got a good idea of what they do. Theres not as much coaching, teaching and things like that and you give these guys a little more leeway because theyre adults. But theres a lot of the same principles that work. I dont care if youre in high school or big league baseball, you have to have discipline. You still have to play the right way." Gibbons fair, jovial but stern-when-he-needs-to-be personality endears him to those who know him best and have known him the longest. "Personally, I think he has the demeanour, the ability to work with people," said Arnold. "I hope he gets lucky this year because last year they had some bad luck, in my opinion, with injuries and other things. I follow him, I watch him all the time and Im very proud to say that I was around him." Arnold continued, "John is going to be the same on the docks with some dock workers as he is at some high class place with the boss. I just think hes a quality person. Hes not flashy, he is what he is but hes always good to people." Coming off a disappointing 74-88 season, a startling and uncomfortable thud after the offseason hype of a year ago, Gibbons knows there is pressure to rebound. His mentors know it, too. "Nobody wants you unless you win," said Arnold. "I dont care what level, what league so I wish him well and hope he has some great luck this year. I hope some of the guys have some great years because I think he deserves it." Gibbons is aware the fan base is angst-ridden, unsure of whether the Blue Jays can compete in the ultra-tough American League East. He knows about the Twitter faction thats popularized the "FireGibby" hashtag, understands and accepts its a fans right to be upset, but wants to be clear about something he says wont change, win or lose. "I want people to know that I care about Toronto, I care about Canada, and nobody wants to win for the fan base more than I do because I know they deserve it."
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