Why Maple Leafs’ Jake McCabe’s game (and personality) was built for the NHL playoffs

Jake McCabe is describing his dream day in his native Wisconsin and, frankly, he’s making it an easy sell.

“We’d start on the water in the morning,” McCabe told The Athletic.

Walleye, or maybe smallmouth bass if he’s lucky, is what he’s fishing for.

“We’d grill out some burgers for lunch, have a couple Miller Lites and then hit the golf course.”

The new Leafs defenceman scratches his mess of curly hair and then laughs through his thick stubble as he imagines that day unfolding. You can park the well-worn jokes about the Leafs hitting the golf course early in the spring after playoff exits. The 29-year-old is laughing because he’s as no-nonsense as they come, knows exactly what he enjoys and isn’t afraid to hide it.

“What you see is what you get,” his former assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin, Jeff Sanger, said of McCabe. “He’s not fake, at all. And that translates to his game on the ice.”

On the ice, one of the questions surrounding McCabe since he was acquired by the Maple Leafs ahead of the trade deadline has centred on how he will perform in the postseason given that he has never played a playoff game.

But like nearly everything else in his life, McCabe plans to keep things simple come playoff time. No need for worry. His attitude and self belief in his career has prepared him for the postseason with the Leafs.

Joel Rumpel was told that being paired with McCabe as freshmen roommates at the University of Wisconsin was completely random. But deep down, Rumpel didn’t believe that for a second. The then-20-year-old goaltender had a very good idea why he was rooming with McCabe, who just 17 when the season started after accelerating through high school to play college hockey one season early.

“The coaches probably thought I could help out this younger guy. He moved away from home pretty early,” Rumpel, now an assistant coach for the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals, said.

Things didn’t work out as planned.

“I’m supposed to take (McCabe) under my wing, but the exact opposite happened,” Rumpel said. “He’s a born leader, mature beyond his years. He took me under his wing.”

Rumpel was taken aback at a teenager showing him the ropes in the sport at an advanced level.

“He’s very straight and narrow,” Rumpel said of McCabe. “This is how it’s done: work hard and you’ll get the results.”

McCabe didn’t always say much, because he didn’t have to. The long hours McCabe spent in the gym put older teammates to shame. His ability to take, and then apply, constructive feedback from coaches spoke to a player who possessed remarkable maturity for his age.

So much for Rumpel’s guidance, outside of some help here and there, of course.

“(Rumpel) had to buy me chew when I was 18,” McCabe said with another hearty laugh.

His brother Andrew was his role model growing up. Andrew is five years older, and so Jake studied Andrew’s steadfast demeanour by watching how Andrew handled situations he’d soon face. Jake then put those observations into practice when he moved away from home at just 15 to join the U.S. National Team Development Program. By the time he arrived at university, his maturity meant he didn’t need the coaxing into a rigorous schedule that some freshmen need.

“Whether it’s a practice or a game, there’s one speed with him,” Sanger said. “Nothing fazes him. His demeanour is consistent. With young players, that helps a lot.”

It didn’t take long for players McCabe’s age to start learning from him. He was an offensively-inclined, power-play defenceman. But that didn’t help much when, in McCabe’s sophomore year, Wisconsin started with one win in their first 11 games.

“We’re supposed to have this wagon of a team. (McCabe) was only a second-year player, but he said if he stepped up his game defensively, everybody would follow,” Rumpel said.

Early in the season, Rumpel remembers McCabe diving headfirst into scrums and using his body more to influence the tempo of play.

“He knew how to get his teammates going. We saw an 18-year-old getting his nose in there,” Rumpel said.

Starting in December, that Wisconsin team went unbeaten in 10 straight games, which Rumpel says is a credit to McCabe.

“It was him showing the way to do it. The right way, and then everyone morphs into that vibe,” Rumpel said.

McCabe had to morph himself when he left college hockey at 20 and signed with the Buffalo Sabres to close out the 2013-14 season. The Sabres had drafted him in the second round of the 2012 draft.

“I found out pretty quick that I was going to be a steady, penalty-kill guy,” McCabe said.

The learning process occurred as McCabe spent his first professional season in the AHL in 2014-15 with the Rochester Americans. And he was completely fine with it.

Complaints are likely the last thing you’re going to hear from McCabe’s corner of the dressing room.

“When guys get sent down, there’s two ways that it can go,” former teammate Mark Pysyk, who spent time with McCabe in Rochester and Buffalo, said. “Some guys can shut it down. But he just kept working and took things in stride. And that’s the guy he is.”

McCabe would spend just one season in the minors before indeed hitting his stride with the Sabres in 2015-16 when, at just 22, his 77 games were tied for second-most among Buffalo defencemen.

“He has that mindset: I’m not going to be denied and I’m going to work harder than everyone else,” Pysyk said of McCabe’s ability to stick in the NHL. “That says that there’s an underlying confidence to him, and that it wasn’t going to be a permanent thing.”

“You have to work at it,” McCabe said, acknowledging that underlying confidence that Pysyk pointed out as a key component of his career. “Once it starts slipping, you have to get it back quicker and quicker. It’s a skill.”

But his self-belief hasn’t wavered much because of how comfortable he is in his own skin.

“I go back to training, always,” McCabe said. “If you’re doing things right away from the game, I feel like you can keep building. And with those building blocks, whether it’s a false sense of confidence or not, it still allows you to play.”

And play he did, as he established himself as a steady, physical presence over parts of eight seasons with the Sabres. There was a lack of glamour in McCabe and his game as he never once hit the 25-point total he did in his final season at Wisconsin. His style of play meant injuries were a natural byproduct. Coupled with a complete lack of playoff appearances, including during his one full season in Chicago after signing a four-year, $16-million deal as a free agent, and you could forgive McCabe for growing discontent about his career.

But, again, no wavering in his belief that he could be an impactful player and that postseason opportunities would come.

“(McCabe) takes the game seriously,” former Sabres teammate Zemgus Girgensons said. “He’s an example of how you should treat the game. Very emotionally controlled.”

Perhaps that’s a legitimate reason as to why the Leafs paid a first-round pick as part of a package to acquire him. High-risk, high-reward defencemen clearly aren’t a priority for Sheldon Keefe in the playoffs. TJ Brodie and Mark Giordano, for example, have been the Leafs’ best and most consistent defencemen as of late, and they’re the types you don’t always notice on the ice. That’s not a bad thing in the postseason, either.

And that approach still tracks with who he is off the ice as well. Simplicity is his calling card. Years from now, putting together an “Untold Stories of Jake McCabe” might be a tough sell for young reporters. There might be a few stories of how good his darts game is, for example, but that’s pushing it.

“I’m hot and cold at darts,” McCabe admitted. “You’ve got to find that slot after about three beers when you can zero in.”

The openness in which McCabe details who he is off the ice speaks to that inner self-belief in his Leafs future.

“It’s all about confidence,” he said of the secret to his NHL career. “It really, truly is. When you’re confident with the puck and confident in your own skin away from the rink, that’s how you improve.”

And that inner confidence could help him when he steps on the ice for his first playoff game.

“He’s wired to silence the noise,” Pysyk said, “and do his thing.”

McCabe’s game already looks playoff ready. He’s emerging as a true shutdown defender with the ability to use physicality and strong stickwork to break up opposition plays with their best forwards on the ice. That he’s pre-disposed to thinking defence-first means he could play an increasingly vital role as part of a shutdown pair with Brodie in his first playoff game and beyond. Against one of the league’s best teams, the New Jersey Devils, on Tuesday, McCabe spent the final 1:17 of the game with a lengthy shift to help see out a tight win.

“I can’t wait. It’s been a long time coming,” McCabe said of playing in his first playoff game. He believes in his Leafs teammates, which is partly why the Leafs were one of the teams he was willing to waive his no-trade clause to join.

Since McCabe has joined the Leafs, he has yet to even set foot in Toronto. He’s spent the entirety of his time with the team on the road which he believes has helped his assimilation. And not surprisingly, he believes he’s been able to be himself around his new teammates.

“I’m grateful this group has let me in with open arms,” McCabe said.

The group around him is still learning about him, as is the fan base. But one thing is certain — they shouldn’t expect anything about McCabe to change when the pressure rises.

“When the playoffs roll around, I’m going to be focused on the same things, every night,” he said.

(Top photo of Jake McCabe: Elsa / Getty Images)