LAS VEGAS — With his size, Pierre Engvall doesn’t have to look up to many players.
At 6-foot-5, 214 pounds, the Maple Leafs’ newest forward acknowledges he does exactly that when he considers the path taken by 5-foot-10, 194-pound Andreas Johnsson.
Both are seventh-round picks by the Leafs, Johnson 202nd overall in 2013 and Engvall 188th overall in 2014.
“Not like you have the big expectations on you, but I have been (sticking) with it,” Engvall said. “When you have Johnny, you can look up to him and when you see him make it, you feel like you can make it too.
“It has been a dream since I was so small. Really happy to be here. Going to try my best.”
Engvall was told after the Toronto Marlies’ game on Sunday that he was being called up. After arriving following practice on Monday, his debut should come soon, though perhaps not until the Leafs visit the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.
“With any of the players we have brought up, what we have tried to do is let them overripe,” coach Mike Babcock said. “In the summer, Engvall was on the (lineup) napkin. When camp was over, he was not on the napkin. (Dmytro) Timashov wasn’t on, and was.
“How (Engvall) feels and the swagger he walks in with now, compared to what he used to have, is different. That leads us to think he is ready.”
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
