The off-season weighed heavy on young Leafs, and that can only help them

The buzz that has been following some of the younger Maple Leafs in training camp is the weight they put on over the summer.

Rasmus Sandin bragged he hit the scales at 194 pounds when he showed up midway through camp, after a couple of seasons of being around 185.

“It’s helped with a little bit of everything, winning battles down in the corners and in front of the net,” Sandin said. “And it’s also helped me in my skating as well. I’ve got a little bit more power in every single stride. But the big thing is winning battles against big, strong guys.”

The word undersized has followed the five-foot-nine Robertson around since the Leafs drafted him. He was 162 pounds then. He has added more than 20 pounds since, including a few more this summer.

“I put on a good amount of weight in the summer, then I toned it down because I was just too heavy. But definitely in the corners, I feel stronger in my foundation,” Robertson said. “I’m getting knocked around less. It was the main thing (the team) told me to focus on. And I think I did that.”

Sandin, 22, is likely a lock on defence while Robertson, 21, is on the cusp of making the team on the strength of his goal-scoring abilities. He says his wrist shot got harder because he got heavier.

“My upper body strength (is the result of) a lot of pushing, push-ups, a lot of triceps work and chest stuff,” Robertson said. “Sometimes people let off their shot, but me, I try to put as much weight as possible on it.”

Both Robertson and Sandin were in the Leafs’ lineup Friday night in Detroit. The two teams play again Saturday at the Scotiabank Arena to wrap up the exhibition portion of the pre-season.

Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said getting bigger is inevitable as a young body matures, so it is best if they target the areas that help them as hockey players. But the progress that comes with added strength does not come as a leap.

“It’s usually subtle,” Keefe said. “I don’t think you see any real major or massive difference. And that’s really what you’re trying to do, make small improvements in areas.

“In some cases, it’s a strength thing. In some cases, it’s being a little more intelligent and knowing through experience how to deal with contact and how to find your way out of battles. Maybe you move the puck a little bit quicker. Some of that stuff comes from what’s done in the off-season in the gym, and some of it just simply comes through experience.”

Veteran Morgan Rielly remembers being about 200 pounds at 19, and now his playing weight is about 220.

“You’re playing against guys that are big and strong and more experienced than you,” Rielly said. “So, in order to keep up with those guys, you want to be able to hold your own in the corners but also not get beat by them. It’s all about balance. It takes it takes time to figure out what works for you.

“When you’re young, you want to lift weights and get stronger. You get bigger because you’re just a meathead. You get older and you figure it out. You prioritize your career and being durable for a long period time.”

It’s not only young players who have added weight. Adam Gaudette, a 26-year-old free-agent signing, is playing at a heavier weight than he ever has. And he hopes that’s the key to kick-starting a career that has appeared to be in neutral.

Gaudette, a one-time Hobey Baker winner as U.S. collegiate hockey player of the year, was a frequent healthy scratch in stops in Vancouver, Chicago and Ottawa. Part of the reason in his earl years was an undiagnosed stomach ailment — a fungal infection called candidiasis — that left him playing underweight and sometimes not even at his best.

Most scouting reports have Gaudette at 170 pounds, but now that he has his diet straight — eliminating extra sugar, processed foods and whey protein while limiting dairy – he has been able to put on weight for the first time as a pro. He’s at 194 pounds.

“I’ve never been this strong, this heavy before,” Gaudette aid. “I think I surprised myself a little bit with the battle drills and down low, just holding on to pucks, being heavier on pucks, winning more battles … I think I got faster, too. So getting up and down the ice, my energy is better. All around, just more healthy, which obviously helps out there.”

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