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Henry Thrun admits he had an extra tackle on his former team after the loss to Sharks
Ice Hockey

Henry Thrun admits he had an extra tackle on his former team after the loss to Sharks

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Henry Thrun admits he had an extra tackle on his former team after the loss to Sharks

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Henry Thrun finally got a chance to prove himself again in the NHL when he made his season debut against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.
When he got the chance to play after Dakota Mermis was injured earlier this week, his first appearance of the season happened to be against his former team, months after being dealt to Toronto for Ryan Reaves. Thrun ultimately logged 16:07 of ice time while recording two shots and hitting a goal, although his usage increased in the third period after Oliver Ekman-Larsson was injured.

After spending much of the season with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, Thrun admitted it was a bit of an adjustment to be back in tune with how much faster the game moves are in the NHL.

“I was fine with it. The game moves so much faster at this pace,” he told reporters after the game when asked about his comfort level. “It took me a minute or two defensively, and other than that it went fine. There’s a couple playing in the second that I wanted back, but overall I was fine with that.”

While it is unclear at the time of writing how serious Ekman-Larsson’s injury will be, there is nonetheless a big opportunity for Thrun as he is likely to be looked at extensively in the near future. While it was clear early on how much rust he needed to shake off, things calmed down as the game went on and he got more reps toward the end of the night. It helped that he had enough motivation to start the match and face his former team for the first time.

“I’ve never done that before. That was obviously something unique,” he said. “I’m just excited. You want to compete against everyone, but especially those guys, a lot of familiar faces. I’m just trying to help the team win. Obviously it wasn’t the result we wanted, but personally it was a little extra gear to play against those guys.”

Captain Auston Matthews said Thrun impressed him in his Leafs debut.

“He was good. I don’t think he looks strange when he’s out there,” Matthews said of Thrun. “He has great poise with a puck, he can play on both sides, he has good skill. He didn’t look out of place at all. I thought he made good plays, and definitely a guy who can move with the puck.”

Thrun has already endeared himself to the Leafs after being named one of the standouts of training camp by Jake McCabe, and it was only a matter of numbers as to why he was ultimately cut at the start of the year. But with injuries plaguing the backline, there will be plenty of room for the 24-year-old to establish himself and make things difficult for the coaching staff once the regulars return.

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