Morgan Rielly and Mitch Marner talk all-star ‘bucket-list’ moment

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The Toronto Maple Leafs family is sticking together Saturday night at the NHL all-star game, and the four participants representing the Buds on Team Matthews — Auston Matthews, Morgan Rielly, William Nylander and Mitch Marner — wouldn’t have it any other way.

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On Friday afternoon, ahead of the skills competition, the four teammates met with fans at the NHL’s fan fair at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre to discuss everything from Fortnite to cologne in conversations moderated by broadcaster Gord Stellick.

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Joined by Nylander, Matthews credited Marner’s grit for his selection to his third all-star game.

”I asked, ‘Amateur night on a Monday, who would you put (onstage)?’ Auston said you because even though it would take you an hour, you’d come up with something funny,’” Stellick said by way of introducing Marner to the crowd.

Rielly, 29, called his first all-star experience “great.”

”I think being here in Toronto is a little bit extra special,” Rielly said. “It feels like home … to have Mitch here, Auston, Willie, makes me feel a bit more at ease so I can enjoy things.”

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So far this season, Rielly has notched seven goals and 33 assists. He told the crowd that he was most excited to play against Sidney Crosby this weekend.

”Crosby’s one that kind of jumps out. When I was younger he was in the league already and I watched him play,” Rielly said.

Marner, 26, was away for a few days leading up to this weekend’s event when he realized he was going to have to put on his skates right back on.

”It didn’t feel like I had anything to do this weekend,” he chuckled. But playing in the NHL all-star Game at home is a “bucket-list” moment for the Leaf forward and GTA native.

”To play in the all-star game and to have it in the city that I grew up in  … it’s pretty remarkable,” Marner said.

Team Matthews also includes Filip Forsberg (Nashville), Clayton Keller (Arizona), Mathew Barzal (New York Islanders), Vincent Trocheck (New York Rangers), Alex DeBrincat (Detroit), Jake Oettinger (Dallas), Igor Shesterkin (Rangers) and celebrity captain Justin Bieber.

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“I think our team’s great,” Marner said, but with the lineup set for Saturday’s four-team showcase, he admitted they have some holes.

”I will say, I don’t think we have passers. We have a lot of scorers,” Marner said.

”We also don’t have any defencemen, other than me,” Rielly quipped.

Team Matthews’ competition includes Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid and his teammate Leon Draisaitl leading Team McDavid, with the other two squads led by Vancouver Canucks defenceman Quinn Hughes and brother Jack Hughes, and Avalanche centre Nathan MacKinnon, along with Colorado defenceman Cale Makar.

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The winning team will pocket a $1-million prize.

”What’s our plan?” Rielly wondered aloud.

“Hopefully we can get a goal scorer that can put it in the net,” Marner joked.

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Elsewhere, the two Leafs favourites discussed their dogs (Marner’s chocolate lab Zeus is a beast when it comes to pizza); cologne (both boys wear Tom Ford); pre-game meals (pasta and ice cream is a must); Fornite (neither of them play, but Marner likes Call of Duty); favourite road cities (Marner loves playing in Buffalo, and no, Bills fans, their window hasn’t closed yet); and teams they hate to play (the Coyotes and Blackhawks seem to rankle them both).

But throughout their nearly-hourlong conversation, Rielly and Marner expressed a love for the game.

”You want to enjoy every day,” Rielly said. “I love going to the rink. It just brings me a lot of joy. I don’t feel like an old guy grinding away.”

Marner credited his brief time playing alongside Patrick Marleau with helping him shift his perspective on hockey.

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”He was very eye-opening with how he looked at the game,” Marner said. “You got to enjoy everything in your life and have fun with it. That opened my eyes at a young age.”

But the two were remarkably candid when one young fan asked them what they thought of the basement-dwelling San Jose Sharks’ victory over the league-leading Oilers earlier this season.

”I love when stuff like that happens,” Rielly said. “I was thrilled.”

”It gives us a little bit more relief because when that happens to us, everyone’s ripping us,” Marner said laughing.

And of course there was some advice for budding players. Practice, practice, practice.

”It takes a lot of hard work, and even once you get there you have to work harder than ever before,” Rielly said. “Don’t waste any time. If you’re in line waiting for a drill, make use of that time … You watch Mitch at practice and he’s always doing crazy stuff with the puck because you never know when you’re going to need it.”

The NHL all-star game airs Saturday 3 p.m. on Sportsnet and ABC.

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