Mitch Marner shows slick hands in assist on Bozak goal (Video)

At the early stage of the 2016-17 season the play of youngster Mitch Marner has been one of the bright spots for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Against the Florida Panthers on Thursday, the 19-year-old Marner showed the moves that made him a big-time scorer at the major junior level with a gorgeous assist on Tyler Bozak’s second goal of the game.

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“I kind of took a quick look. I knew (Kadri) and (Bozak) were going to the net. I knew if I got it there hopefully one of them could get it in,” Marner said. “Luckily it went right to Bozie and went in.”

Said Bozak, “I was kind of expecting it. Just playing with him in practice and throughout the games, he knows where to throw the puck and where you’re going to be. I was kind of expecting it and he made a great play there.”

The assist was Marner’s third of the game, which currently stands at 3-2 in favor of the Maple Leafs. Marner notched a primary assist on James van Riemsdyk’s goal that tied the game at 2-2. On that play Marner turned the puck up ice and created a 2-on-1 before finding van Riemsdyk who finished off the goal.

“It just goes to show his hockey sense and how he reads the play. Just putting the puck in good areas,” van Riemsdyk said. “He already has that ability to read the game. He has that ability to know where guys are without necessarily seeing them.”

Marner also notched a secondary assist on Bozak’s first goal of the game. The Maple Leafs won the game 3-2.

His last two seasons of junior with the London Knights, Marner notched 242 points in 120 games. The Leafs picked him fourth overall in the 2015 NHL Draft because he could score and he has showed that type of potential so far in his young NHL career.

“I felt pretty good,” Marner said. “Obviously we had a lot of chemistry going tonight and it was clicking all throughout the night. We knew our chances would come, we’ve really connected through the last couple of games and we knew it was going to break out eventually.”

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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