During the celebration on the ice following the Game 7 Calder Cup victory, Toronto’s head coach pulled rookie Jeremy Bracco to the side in what might prove to be a seminal moment in the young man’s career.
Keefe elaborated on what he said to the right winger during a post-game presser in January: “Last year, when we were celebrating the Calder Cup on the ice, I congratulated him and kind of said this is gonna be your team next year, in terms of the offense.”
Bracco ended the 2017-18 regular season on quite the streak with 14 points in 11 games, but he was a healthy scratch for the majority of the playoffs after making way for the returning Andreas Johnsson, who ended winning the honour of playoff MVP.