Why Landon Sim is driven by confidence with each Toronto Marlies shift

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As part of our Maple Leafs coverage at the Toronto Sun, we’re keeping regular tabs on the club’s prospects and other hopefuls, checking in with some potential Leafs across the hockey landscape.

Today, we talk to Toronto Marlies forward Landon Sim.

NO SIMMERING DOWN

Taking a glance at Sim’s playoff statistics this past spring might lead one to believe he didn’t make much of an impact as the Marlies won their second Calder Cup.

Despite recording just three points in 12 games — two goals and one assist — in Sim’s case, that really couldn’t have been further from the truth.

His tenacity and fearless style set the tone on the Marlies’ fourth line and Sim grew as a fan favourite at the Coca-Cola Coliseum as the Marlies went deeper into the playoffs.

After suffering an injury early in the season, Sim spent time with Cincinnati of the ECHL before being summoned to the Marlies in March.

“When I got a chance in playoffs, I just ran with it and never really looked back, and I’ve been running with it ever since,” Sim said after a recent Marlies practice.

Picked by the St. Louis Blues in the sixth round of the 2022 National Hockey League draft, Sim eventually signed an American Hockey League contract with the Marlies in May 2025.

That reward came after he helped the London Knights, along with Easton Cowan, win back-to-back Ontario Hockey League championships in 2024 and 2025.

At each step in his hockey career, the 5-foot-11, 187-pound Sim has had to scrap for every minute of ice time. That he has been part of a champion team in each of the past three years is not happenstance.

In April, when the Leafs were between full-time general managers after the firing of Brad Treliving and before the hiring of John Chayka, interim GM Brandon Pridham signed Sim to a two-year, entry-level contract.

The belief in Sim hasn’t wavered in the organization.

“What’s great about Landon is he has an identity and he plays to the identity,” Marlies coach Steve Sullivan said. “He doesn’t get away from it. If we can get his play away from the puck and his decision-making up a little bit … a lot of players in the National Hockey League, third- and fourth-line guys, need to have an identity.

“You’re trying to find those guys that are going to understand what is needed in those roles, and you don’t have to teach that to Landon Sim because he knows it. It’s a matter of continuing his development so his skill set and his decision-making is NHL level. If he gets that, there’s a pathway there for him.”

AN EYE-OPENING EXPERIENCE

A native of New Glasgow, N.S., the 22-year-old Sim had some special company for on-ice workouts this past summer.

Marlies captain Logan Shaw, a fellow Maritimer, got Sim involved in the daily skates in Halifax that were led by Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon.

Needless to say, the example rubbed off on Sim.

“They’re not skating around cones all summer with their skill,” Sim said. “They’re battling as hard as they can every day and I think that’s why I fit in because I was battling every day.

“It was awesome, skating with those big dogs. I just put my head down and treated it like a job. I was dialled in. I had to be. I didn’t want to mess up or bug them. It was really good for me.

“They’ve done everything. They’ve won (Stanley) Cups. They’ve won gold medals and they still treat every day in the summer like it’s … you see that, and why would anybody not go hard and take it so serious? Whatever it takes.”

Through the Marlies’ first four games, Sim had one goal and was involved in one fight.

Whether Sim’s hockey journey gets him the NHL remains to be seen.

He has a solid hockey pedigree, as his dad, Jon, carved out a 469-game career in the NHL with eight teams, finishing with the New York Islanders in 2010-11.

Behind his toothless smile, the younger Sim has confidence that he’s getting it right in playing career.

“I have a ton of energy when I play, and I feel like I can get a whole crowd on their on their feet sometimes when we need it, and get the bench going, get the team going when we need some jam,” Sim said. “That’s what I’m there for. I know my role, and I know what I am.

“I can see myself playing someday, and I fully believe in it. I’m just going to run with it every day and come to the rink with a positive attitude, no matter what.”

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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