{"id":5411,"date":"2017-01-15T14:50:08","date_gmt":"2017-01-15T19:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=5411"},"modified":"2017-01-15T15:43:23","modified_gmt":"2017-01-15T20:43:23","slug":"the-bond-between-mitch-marner-and-his-teammates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/01\/15\/the-bond-between-mitch-marner-and-his-teammates\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bond Between Mitch Marner and His Teammates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>During a season where the Toronto Maple Leafs lean heavily on their rookies, a bye week is necessary to give the young players a break. Luckily for <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/marnemi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mitch Marner<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and his teammates,\u00a0it\u2019s not difficult for them\u00a0to have some fun, whether it\u2019s during an off-week or on the bench during a game.<\/p>\n<h2>The Bond Between Mitch Marner and His Teammates<\/h2>\n<p>Since the beginning of the campaign, many viewed Marner\u00a0as the little kid amongst men, and he\u2019s loved for it. Aside from making creative passes night in and night out, Marner receives a lot of attention for the\u00a0bond he has with his teammates.<\/p>\n<h3>Marner and Matt\u00a0Martin<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Marner and Martin during pregame warmups\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PQrtnERkdLk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Watching Marner and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=martima02,martima01&amp;search=Matt+Martin&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matt Martin<\/a><\/strong> goof off with each other is special\u00a0because the two players are polar opposites in playing\u00a0style. Marner, while small relative to his peers, is arguably the most skilled player on the team. Martin on the other hand, weighing in a 220 pounds, is known for his willingness to fight and his physicality. Both players play a different kind of game yet they\u2019re the newest Leafs bromance to come to surface.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BOZ32cpBg2L\/?taken-by=mattymarts17&#038;hl=en<\/p>\n<p>It looks like Marner made himself comfortable in Martin&#8217;s home and on his stuffed bear. The friendship doesn&#8217;t end there as the two of them and teammate\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/carrico01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Connor Carrick<\/a><\/strong> found themselves dabbing in Grand Cayman.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BPF_sOtFvlo\/?taken-by=mattymarts17&#038;hl=en<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"qme\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\ude44 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattymarts17?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@mattymarts17<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Marner93?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Marner93<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uv7YvDKxnL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/uv7YvDKxnL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sydney Esiason Martin (@sydneyemartin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sydneyemartin\/status\/818966295924396033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 10, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>While it&#8217;s all fun and games for the two teammates, they&#8217;re not shy about <a href=\"https:\/\/streamable.com\/kz06w\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">giving each other a hard time<\/a>\u00a0when they&#8217;re not on vacation.<\/p>\n<p>Martin&#8217;s productivity on the ice may be limited compared to Marner&#8217;s. But his presence on and off the ice clearly loosens things up for one of Toronto&#8217;s stars.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/JeffVeillette\/status\/820091957225672704<\/p>\n<h3>Marner and Auston\u00a0Matthews<\/h3>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=x59dqu50yWA<\/p>\n<p>Marner&#8217;s relationship with his fellow rookie superstar\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/matthau01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Auston Matthews<\/a><\/strong> has been evident for quite some time now. It blew up when CBC caught both rookies singing to Bon Jovi while on the bench.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/DailyGongshow\/status\/809447156138524673<\/p>\n<p>From then on out, both of them have been linked with an off-ice bond. They may casually be seen matching outfits:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Great hats on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AM34?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@AM34<\/a> &amp; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Marner93?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Marner93<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5K0mocO4sa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/5K0mocO4sa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NHL (@NHL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NHL\/status\/811011864855449600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 20, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Or\u00a0they may have been spotted on a ferris wheel in the Distillery District:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"imgur-embed-pub\" lang=\"en\" data-id=\"a\/zJMVX\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/imgur.com\/a\/zJMVX\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">View post on imgur.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/s.imgur.com\/min\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Marner and Matthews are set up to be a significant part of the Maple Leafs future, so it&#8217;s probably a good idea to become close friends now.<\/p>\n<h3>Marner and\u00a0Others<\/h3>\n<p>Martin and Matthews\u00a0seem to be the closest to Marner this season, but that doesn&#8217;t mean the 19-year-old winger doesn&#8217;t enjoy his time with other teammates.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s Marner, Matthews and\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/bozakty01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyler Bozak<\/a><\/strong> struggling to hold a baby together:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BOpn2Y7FDPT\/?taken-by=marner_93&#038;hl=en<\/p>\n<p>The Marner-Bozak-<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/v\/vanrija01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James van Riemsdyk<\/a><\/strong> line\u00a0seem to enjoy Halloween almost as much as they do scoring goals together.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BL7Ul6wF-s-\/?taken-by=marner_93&#038;hl=en<\/p>\n<h3>Mitch Marner and His Teammates<\/h3>\n<p>Whether it&#8217;s through <em>The Leaf: Blueprint<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Road to the NHL Outdoor Classics<\/em> or simply social media, Leafs fans are able to see more behind-the-scenes antics of their favourite players. It&#8217;s likely that there are more players with similar qualities of Marner, but he&#8217;s one player who hasn&#8217;t been shy of his relationship with his teammates. Perhaps those qualities help the Leafs in the dressing room, translating it onto the ice. If there&#8217;s one thing that is certain, this team is having a lot more fun than than they did in the past. A lot of that comes from winning, but give\u00a0some credit to the new players as well.<\/p>\n<p>With 35 points through 41 games played, Marner is playing at a 70-point pace. Should he continue his impressive play for the rest\u00a0of the season, Toronto could find themselves in a playoff spot.<\/p>\n<p>In the words of Marner himself (and Bon Jovi): Woah, we&#8217;re halfway there.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo.<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/621317660\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 78.787879% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/621317660?et=Ygt-GUD2QfVsvSEGnApjZQ&amp;viewMoreLink=off&amp;sig=b2hCH-QV0JeO1bDeBzbtSgS_Pc4OJ1yMF47R5WlmX48=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"468\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mitch Marner and his teammates seem to be having fun after the first half of the season. For the first time in a while, the Maple Leafs look happy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":5428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[228,606,856,229,38,72],"class_list":["post-5411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leafs","tag-auston-matthews","tag-eastern-conference","tag-matt-martin","tag-mitch-marner","tag-nhl","tag-toronto-maple-leafs"],"modified_by":"Griffin Schroeder (Associate Editor)","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}