For Mike Babcock, 23-year-old Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly still is “just a kid,” but with a couple of significant differences from the 2016-17 season.

“Last year we never played him in any offensive situations at all,” Babcock said. “We just told him to learn how to play without the puck.

“Then we brought in a guy named Ron Hainsey who tells him what to do every shift, sits with him on the bench every day and suddenly he’s not erratic in his play.

“He has learned to shoot the puck, get the puck to the net on a regular basis. He goes when the opportunity is there and plays defence when the opportunity is not there. He’s growing up.”

It was not a coincidence that Rielly went into Saturday night versus Vancouver with 25 assists, two short of his career high of 27, accomplished in 2015-16.

Rielly’s 29 points put him seven shy of his career best of 36, also done two seasons ago.