Dzierkals: Looking to make the transition from Latvia to Toronto

TORONTO - Martins Dzierkals smiles at the recollection: June 27, 2015, the day  he was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

 “It was amazing,” said Dzierkals, the 68^th player taken in the 2015 NHL draft. “I was watching it online and everyone was like a big boom in Latvia. Everyone was congratulating me from friends and family. It was a big thing. That was one of the happiest days of my life.”

Tonight, the 19-year-old forward will lead his underdog Latvia team against Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Toronto.

Even though the Latvians have lost both games in the event having been been outscored 15-2, Dzierkals is soaking in his time at the Air Canada Centre.

“It’s an amazing experience,” said Dzierkals, who as an assist thus far. “I bet when we play against Canada the rink is going to be full and the crowd is going to be amazing. I hope this isn’t the only time I play here. It’s been fun.”

The native of Ogre, Latvia has played the last two years with Rouyn-Noranda of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He has 27 points in 22 games this season and will be going head to head against a couple of his junior teammates tonight as Phillipe Myers and Jeremy Lauzon patrol the Canadian blueline.

Listed at 5-foot-11 and 173 pounds, Dzierkals grew up cheering for the handful of Latvians who made it to the NHL.

“For me it was (Sandis) Ozolinsh, Artus Irbe,” said Dzierkals. “That is a big inspiration for me. Now I am an example to the young kids because these players were an example to me.”

Dzierkals has attended rookie and main camps with the Maple Leafs and hopes to make a more permanent return to the Air Canada Centre in the future.

“They have a lot of young talent and are doing really good this year,” said Dzierkals. “They are going to keep building every year.”

“They are going to get a cup for sure in the next couple of years and I want to be a part of it.”

Jeremy Bracco: Prove People Wrong

By Tony Ambrogio

TORONTO – “Prove People Wrong.”

It’s written on Jeremy Bracco’s green bracelet he wears on his right wrist. It’s a motto the Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick has been living by his entire hockey career.

“It’s just something I go by,” said Bracco, from Freeport New York. “New York is not a hockey hotbed. It’s a motto a lot of us New York guys come by. It’s a lot of fun to have that in the back of your mind when you’re playing.”

Bracco scored a goal in Team U.S.A’s 6-1 opening night victory over Latvia at the World Junior Hockey Championship on Boxing Day. The Leafs second round pick in 2015 (61^st overall) played his first game at the Air Canada Centre, in what may be his future NHL home. The moment wasn’t lost on him.

“You realize the history and what it means to be a Toronto Maple Leaf and the people here. It is pretty special for me and hopefully I can be here in years to come. It’s pretty cool to get my first taste of it.”

Bracco is listed at 5-foot-10 and the comparisons to a player chosen by Toronto 57 picks earlier are inevitable. Mitch Marner, the fourth overall pick in 2015 is listed at 5-foot-11. He has burst onto the scene in his rookie campaign in the NHL. Bracco has taken notice.  

“Everybody is going to have their doubts about you. You got to prove you can play compared to a guy who is 6-foot-5 and has to prove he can’t play.”

“Great energy, great puck mover and he can shoot. He has the ability to play offence for us. We think he’s deadly on the power play,” said Team U.S.A. coach Bob Motzko. “He has the brains and he has the skills.”

For the 19 year-old Bracco, this is his first trip to this event. He was cut on Christmas Eve as a 17 year-old. Last year he wasn’t invited to the U.S. camp.

“To come out this year and to get one early was real nice. To have the coach have confidence in me and put me on the power play it’s a good feeling for sure.”

With the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers, Bracco had a 26 game point streak come to an end just before joining the American team. It is the second longest streak in franchise history. In the final game of the streak, he scored the overtime game winner against Kingston.

“(After I scored) the boys were yelling ‘streak’ so that was a lot of fun,” said Bracco who is in the fifth in OHL scoring with 17 goals and 34 assists in 27 games.

Still, it’s his size that some can’t overlook. Bracco will continue to do his best to prove people wrong.

“It’s not about motivation, anybody that wants to be a player can be motivated when you step on the ice. It’s what you do when people aren’t around, that’s what separates guys.”