Marshall Rifai was standing near the Coca-Cola Coliseum rink, minding his own business, when he overheard Noel Hoefenmayer’s name being mentioned.

“Just get him the puck,” said the Marlies defenceman under his breath, without missing a beat, of Hoefenmayer.

Strong advice, all things considered.

Though the 23-year-old Hoefenmayer was relatively far down the Marlies depth chart heading into the season, by all accounts from within the organization he’s surpassed expectations. Hoefenmayer has been on a tear as of late with goals in four straight games and game-winning goals in his last two games. He currently sits fourth among all AHL defencemen with 24 points in 25 games.

The defencemen ahead of him on that list include the usual suspects: NHL-contracted blueliners with plenty of NHL or AHL experience under their belt, such as Christian Wolanin.

But that’s where the lively Hoefenmayer, who sports a constant smile, differs from the pack: That he is currently on a one-year AHL contract after spending the majority of last season in the ECHL with the Newfoundland Growlers has made him one of the surprises of the entire organization in 2022.

And that he has solidified himself as a key piece on a Marlies team that comfortably sits in first place in the North Division suggests not only that the Leafs organization’s three-tiered development model may have produced yet another diamond in the rough, but that his efforts over the past year may put him in contention for an NHL contract at the end of this season.

Matteo Pietroniro had a good feeling about Hoefenmayer as soon as he met him in 2021. Both were 22-year-old defencemen on AHL contracts and were shipped to Newfoundland to suit up for the Growlers. Both had impressive pedigrees: Pietroniro, now a regular Marlies defenceman, was once a high-scoring blueliner for the USHL’s Chicago Steel and had two seasons of top-tier European hockey under his belt.

And Hoefenmayer was a fourth-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in the 2017 NHL Draft. Hoefenmayer did not sign with the Coyotes at the end of his OHL career with the Ottawa 67’s, in part because there might not have been an opportunity for him moving forward in the organization. In his final junior season, Hoefenmayer’s 82 points in 58 games helped him win the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the OHL’s top defenceman. He signed a two-year AHL contract with the Marlies in April 2020 before signing a one-year extension heading into 2022-23.

But it wasn’t the way Hoefenmayer moved the puck or unleashed his booming shot from the point that stood out to Pietroniro, it was the attitude he showed while spending nearly the entire season on what could be essentially perceived as a demotion. No real pouting about the move to the ECHL whatsoever.

“There’s certain guys who process it well, and (Hoefenmayer) is a guy who did that well,” said Pietroniro. “Especially in this organization, there’s a lot of stepping stones.”

Few understood that like Hoefenmayer. Even with his talent, what he didn’t have was an opportunity at the AHL level.

Left-shot defencemen like Carl Dahlstrom, Kristian Rubins and Filip Kral, all signed to NHL deals, were priorities in terms of playing time. The left-shot Hoefenmayer plays the right side but so did Joey Duszak, who couldn’t stop producing, and Mac Hollowell, who the Leafs have long believed in as an eventual NHL player.

While Hoefenmayer himself was a fourth-round NHL pick, there was no room at the inn for him.

“When guys get sent down, they might think it’s a bad thing,” said Pietroniro. “But it’s all about how you handle it, and how you take it. If you go there and you control what you can and play well, if you look at it that way, there are lots of positives in it.”

Some players fail to understand the reasons why they’re sent to the ECHL. Yet Hoefenmayer responded to messages from the organization’s coaches and management with trademark positivity.

“There was never an issue of me not believing that I can do what I can do,” said Hoefenmayer.

That’s why the message he received from the Leafs staff resonated: Don’t treat this as a demotion. Understand that you’re being sent to the ECHL so you can log plenty of minutes, dominate and keep your confidence sky high.

And that’s an important part of the Leafs’ three-tiered development plan that Hoefenmayer bought into: the belief that for young, talented players without opportunity, the ECHL is a league to get continued reps in, and not one to feel frustrated about being sent to.

“I used that time to build my confidence so that when I come up here, I still feel really good about myself,” said Hoefenmayer.

Marlies head coach Greg Moore understands it can be difficult for a young player to get acclimated to a new organization and then equally difficult for organizations like the Leafs to truly see a player’s ceiling and ability when they’re “trying to find their way.”

Yet for the Leafs’ three-tiered development program to pay dividends and by producing players who truly honed their craft in the ECHL, then the AHL and eventually the NHL, they’ll need players to buy into starting at the bottom rung of the ladder.

Hoefenmayer did that: he played 46 games for the Growlers. Though he was far out of the public eye, Hoefenmayer began developing a reputation around the Leafs organization as a person who brought buoyancy and positivity to every situation with a genuine desire to learn and improve.

“They believed in me,” said Hoefenmayer of the Leafs organization. “And anyone who believes in me, I want to make proud.”

This past summer was transformative for Hoefenmayer. The Toronto native logged plenty of one-on-one hours with Leafs skating development consultant Randi Milani to become “more efficient and fast.” He put those improved skating skills to the test against multiple Leafs who spent the summer in Toronto during informal skating and development sessions.

Hoefenmayer keyed in on defenceman Morgan Rielly. There are some similarities in the way the two offensively-minded players approach the game. Hoefenmayer calls himself a visual learner, and watched for Rielly’s tendencies with the puck on his stick, skating through the neutral zone. Hoefenmayer picked Rielly’s brain when he could, and what he took away from those conversations is the importance of being smooth, confident and, importantly, efficient with the puck.

“A lot of players, when they get the puck, might choke up with it or not know what to do with it,” said Hoefenmayer. “But when (Rielly) has the puck, the whole world slows down.”

He had the reps in his game to believe he could implement what he learned at the professional level.

All in all, it made for a summer that saw Hoefenmayer’s confidence grow even more and take his game “to another level.”

His production to start this season is what jumps off the page: With a booming shot that Hoefenmayer claims is the product of thousands of shots clanging off his garage door outside his Toronto home (which bothered his neighbours to no end), Hoefenmayer has become the most dangerous threat from the blue line on this Marlies team.

Crucially, however, 17 of his 24 points have come at five-on-five; the slick puck-mover can do more than just quarterback the power play.

He’s reading the play better than he has in the past. The Marlies staff have thrown him out against the kind of difficult competition they might not have planned on ahead of the season, but he’s responded with, generally, responsible play.

“He’s problem-solved a lot for himself at this point in the year,” said Moore.

At the end of last season, the Marlies staff were clear: they wanted Hoefenmayer to lean into the physical side of the game. At 6-feet and 192 pounds, Hoefenmayer doesn’t exactly have imposing size, but the team has been encouraged by his dedication to being difficult to play against in ugly areas of the ice.

“A lot of my confidence has come from my physicality,” said Hoefenmayer.

His 65 penalty minutes, second among all AHL defencemen, suggest he isn’t afraid of mixing it up. But a point of emphasis moving forward will be utilizing that physicality in the most optimal manner. Of those 65 penalty minutes, 38 were handed down over just two games in mid-December when he received two separate misconducts for instigating fighting majors.

That Hoefenmayer can balance production and move the puck with the need from the coaching staff to become more of a shut-down defenceman has led to the player’s confidence being, according to Moore, “at an all-time high.”

“I don’t think we need to reinvent who he is as a player,” said Moore.

The defenceman learned to trust what the organization saw best for him in the ECHL which, again, is something not every young, talented blueliner is interested in.

“It’s fun to see a guy who puts in the work get rewarded with his potential, especially at this level,” said Moore.

Within the Marlies organization, Hoefenmayer’s production has come as a surprise. With injuries to the likes of Dahlstrom and defencemen like Hollowell, Victor Mete and Jordie Benn spending more time with the Leafs than perhaps anticipated, Hoefenmayer has played 25 games, tops among all defencemen. That’s more than many in the organization believed he might play.

And he’s not alone.

Of the five Marlies defencemen who have logged the most AHL games this season, four are considered rookies. And then there’s Hoefenmayer, who himself had only 26 games of AHL experience coming into this season.

But the fact that Hoefenmayer has run with the opportunity has Moore believing the young defenceman shouldn’t be pigeonholed as, well, “young” anymore.

“To be honest, I think we can move forward from even having that narrative. I don’t care what the games played are,” said Moore, adding that young defencemen like Hoefenmayer are “playing against top teams.”

What stands out is how Hoefenmayer has elevated his game with more playing time.

“He’s proven himself,” said Moore.

Now the question becomes: can Hoefenmayer prove he belongs at the next level and earn an NHL contract?

The attitude and commitment to improvement have certainly turned enough heads within the organization. But even Hoefenmayer knows less than half a season of strong production doesn’t guarantee him much.

“To be an NHL player, they do the same thing every day. I need to continue to do what I’m doing. That’s my motto right now: to be able to do it again tomorrow. It’s great what’s happened so far but if I continue to work as hard as I have, good things will happen,” said Hoefenmayer.

That he is a left-shot defenceman who can play the right side increases his worth. Only four right-shot defencemen are signed for 2023-24, and that includes top prospect Topi Niemela, who hasn’t played a minute of time in North America.

And his powerful shot gives him a tool not every defenceman in the organization has. 

If he continues to produce at the level he has, could he end up forcing the Leafs’ hand and parlaying his buy-in to their development program into an NHL contract?

Of course, an NHL contract doesn’t automatically lead to NHL playing time.

Further improvements are needed on the defensive side of the game, though more often than not he’s beat by speedier forwards. But his defending isn’t all that worse off than any of the Marlies defencemen who are on NHL contracts, either.

For his part, Hoefenmayer has never been more comfortable in his own skin and within the Marlies dressing room. He’s picked up a new habit courtesy of Marlies captain Logan Shaw, trying to turn on different parts of his brain daily with crossword puzzles. And despite being a young defenceman, Pietroniro comfortably calls Hoefenmayer “the loudest guy in the room. You’re always going to get an earful from him.”

“I just try and keep it light,” said Hoefenmayer with a mischievous grin.

Even with that attitude, things could get serious for Hoefenmayer come the end of the season if he finally earns his first NHL contract. He’s proven that he’s capable of growing his game. The rest of his season will determine where the next stage of that growth takes him.

“I really believe in myself,” said Hoefenmayer. “I can do big things.”