Ryan Reaves reveals the cause of his early season struggles

PUBLICATION

Dawson McKenzie
April 5, 2024 (12:50)

SHARE THIS STORY

Ryan Reaves has done a complete turnaround of his game for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, and he has recently revealed why he struggled early on this season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a completely new look this season, adding a ton of grit all around their roster. One of the biggest splashes when it comes to toughness, though, was when the Leafs signed Ryan Reaves during the offseason to a 3-year deal. This was Brad Treliving telling the rest of the NHL that the Leafs wouldn't be shaped in the same way they used to.

However, Reaves had his struggles at the beginning of the season. He eventually found his way out of the lineup with an injury but was healthy scratched a number of times following the injury. Now, though, Reaves has done a complete turnaround with his game, and the Leafs' fourth line has looked excellent. Reaves explained the cause of his early season struggles in a recent interview.

"Used that as a mini training camp," Reaves said of his six-week absence from the lineup. "I worked on everything that I could. I was doing two-, three-a-days (training sessions) sometimes.

"Just trying to get confidence back."

"Confidence is a real thing," Reaves said. "First time I've probably gone through something like that in my career where I just felt like nothing was going right. I just felt like I had no confidence. Used that opportunity to try and build it back."

The Leafs will benefit significantly if Reaves can stay playing at the top of his game. If they can get him in the lineup for game 1, that will be a huge message to any of their potential first-round matchups that they won't be pushed around this post-season. You can see how fired up Reaves got when fighting Jeannot, a player who has been a thorn in the Leafs' side during the postseason in the past.

As seen on Hockey Feed - Ryan Reaves admits the sad truth on early-season struggles