Cade Webber comes from Worcester, Mass., and grew up idolizing Zdeno Chara.
Yet the first taste of his life as a professional hockey player has pitted him as a Black Ace for the Maple Leafs as they face the team he grew up loving, the Boston Bruins.
The six-foot-seven defenceman from Boston University insists the first-round series has not tested his loyalties.
“I was a Boston fan, but that changed quickly,” says Webber, adding he loved Brad Marchand as a kid “but I hate him now.”
Webber has been with the Leafs since the playoffs started. They signed him to an entry-level deal once the regular season ended and the restrictive salary cap no longer applied.
He could have waited until Aug. 15 to become an unrestricted free agent but he chose to sign with the Leafs, who traded for his playing rights in an under-the-radar move with Carolina at the trade deadline.
“It’s going to be a great place to develop and grow my game,” Webber says. “How they treat the players, it’s first class here. They help with anything. And they have so many resources, on the ice, different types of people that can help with different things within my game.”
Webber is an intriguing prospect. There’s not much by way of offence. No goals in 38 games this season and one goal and 15 assists over four seasons. But he has a characteristic Leafs general manager Brad Treliving likes in defencemen — size. The six-foot-nine Chara, a Stanley Cup winner and a veteran of 24 NHL seasons, has been an influence on Webber’s game.
“My assistant coach at BU (Kim Brandvold) was a skills coach for the Bruins, and he worked closely with him,” Webber says. “So I kind of watched him a little bit. And he told me some stories of how hard he works off the ice and stuff like that. So I kind of just took that and learned from him that way.”
How does that manifest in Webber’s game?
“I mean, just play tough defensively,” he says. “Close quickly. Simple first pass on the breakout, stuff like that. But, yeah, definitely play a hard-nosed game around the net, which (Chara) used successfully for a long time.”
Webber skates as a healthy scratch, which usually means going out early or staying out late after practice, and definitely taking in every optional skate. He often skates with Conor Timmins, but veterans T.J. Brodie and Mark Giordano are also among the Black Aces in the playoffs.
“I’m learning from these guys,” Webber says. “They’ve been great. Just trying to pick up a few things from each guy and bring it into my own routine. It’s just been awesome to be out there with these guys, be around them. Just a great learning experience so far.”
Webber said he was caught off guard, but flattered nonetheless, when the Leafs traded a 2026 sixth-round pick for him. Carolina drafted him in the fourth round, 99th overall, in 2019.
“That Toronto wanted me meant a lot to me,” Webber says. “I took that and used that as motivation to keep working.”
Though his summer workouts have been in Boston, including some with Marchand, Webber expects to remain in Toronto this off-season, getting to know the city and his teammates.
“I’ll just probably stay here for the summer, work out, train, and, just put my best foot forward in training camp and see where that goes,” he says. “I’m just trying to use this experience to learn what it’s like.
“I’ve gained some confidence. So going in the training camp, I know what to expect and I can put my best foot forward.”
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