Mitch Marner scores first goal of NHL career (Video)

Toronto Maple Leafs rookie forward Mitch Marner scored the first goal of his NHL career against the Boston Bruins. 

On Wednesday Oct. 12, Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews scored four goals in his NHL debut. It turns out he’s not the only rookie in Toronto making news with their firsts. Now it’s forward Mitch Marner. Marner scored a beautiful goal against the Boston Bruins to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead.

"MARNER!! #NHLonNBC https://t.co/qtrteZK1fj— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) October 15, 2016"

Marner didn’t score in his NHL debut on Wednesday against the Ottawa Senators, but he was still impressive. He was all over the ice and had numerous impressive scoring chances. Marner was originally selected by the Maple Leafs with the fourth overall pick of the 2015 NHL Draft and many criticized the Leafs for the pick due to Marner’s lack of size, but he’s proving them wrong with his performance so far.

While Marner was criticized for his size, he has since grown to a much more respectable 6-feet-tall. Credit for his first NHL goal must be given to fellow Maple Leafs rookie, defenseman Nikita Zaitsev. He had an excellent stretch pass to Tyler Bozak, who got the puck up to Marner.

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With Marner’s goal, that is now three Maple Leafs forwards who have scored their first NHL goal this year. Matthews, Connor Brown, and Marner have now each scored. This is a showing of the Maple Leafs’ future. It’s clearly quite bright. A large part of that is because they have nailed their recent first round picks, starting with William Nylander in 2014. After Nylander, they followed with Marner in 2015 and Matthews in 2016.

The Leafs offense has been impressive so far. However, their defense is a different story. But so far, the Leafs future looks as bright as promised. It’s been a long time since someone could say that about the Maple Leafs.