page_title: Travis Dermott
section_title: Professional
hierarchical_section_title: Travis Dermott / Playing career / Professional
caption_attribution_description: Photo: Christian Bonin
context_page_description: Travis Dermott is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League. Before turning professional, Dermott was rated as a top prospect who was projected as a possible first round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He was ultimately selected in the second round, 34th overall, by the Maple Leafs.
  Born in Newmarket, Ontario, Dermott was drafted by the Erie Otters in the 2012 Ontario Hockey League Draft. His tenure with the team stretched over three seasons and he was named to the 2014 First All-Rookie Team. He has also competed with Canada men's national junior ice hockey team at the 2016 IIHF World U20 Championship.
  After making his professional career debut in 2016 with the Leafs American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, Dermott was utilized on the team's penalty-kill and moved to the right hand side as a left-handed shot. He made his NHL debut in 2018 and, after losing to the Boston Bruins in the first round, went on to help the Marlies win their first Calder Cup in franchise history.
context_section_description: After the Otters were swept in the Western Conference final, Dermott joined the Toronto Marlies for the 2016 Calder Cup playoffs. He made his professional post-season debut with the Marlies during the third round of the playoffs as a replacement for Stuart Percy before they were ultimately eliminated by the Hershey Bears. 
  On August 26, 2016, Dermott was selected to compete at the Maple Leafs 2016 Rookie Tournament and their 2016 training camp. After participating in both, he was returned to the Toronto Marlies for their 2016–17 season. Dermott made his AHL debut on October 16, 2016, where he recorded his first career AHL goal and assist in a win against the Utica Comets. He concluded his rookie season with the Marlies having recorded 24 points in 59 games, earning him a second-place finish amongst Marlies defensemen in scoring.
  The following year, Dermott was again selected to participate in the Leafs Rookie Tournament, but was reassigned to the Marlies to begin the season. He played on a defensive pairing with Timothy Liljegren and earned time on the penalty-kill. Although he was a left-handed shooter, he was moved to the right hand side. Dermott's playmaking ability earned him his first NHL recall on January 5, 2018 where he recorded one assist in two games before being sent back down to the Marlies on January 11, 2018. While with the Marlies again, Dermott was named to the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic alongside teammate Kasperi Kapanen.  Following another recall on January 15 with fellow Marlies player Frédérik Gauthier, he was given the number 23 to wear instead of his usual 3. That night, he scored his first career NHL goal in the leafs 5–0 win against the New York Islanders on January 31. Dermott stayed will the Leafs as they qualified for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Boston Bruins and recorded his first playoff goal during Game 7 to tie the game 3–3, although the Leafs ended up losing the game 7–4. Despite playing in the NHL playoff series, Dermott, Andreas Johnsson, and Kasperi Kapanen remained eligible to compete in the 2018 Calder Cup playoffs. After the Leafs were eliminated from the playoffs, Dermott was sent to the Marlies to help them in their 2018 Calder Cup playoffs run. He ended his rookie campaign with the Leafs recording one goal and 12 assists in 37 regular season games. Upon returning to the Toronto Marlies lineup, he helped them win their first Calder Cup in franchise history following a seven–game playoff series against the Texas Stars.
  On the heels of his successful rookie campaign, Dermott began the 2018–19 season with the Leafs in the NHL for the first time in his career. As the youngest defenseman on the Leafs roster, Dermott played on a pairing with Ron Hainsey with the goal of moving him to Morgan Rielly's side. Former head coach Mike Babcock stated that “[Dermott’s issues] are all the things that are no different than Morgan Rielly....Everyone raves about you, but you’re a dash all the time. The puck is going in your net all the time. So you have to figure that out over time. That’s what the league is all about.” He played in 24 games until teammate William Nylander returned to the lineup following a contract dispute on December 2, 2018. Dermott was loaned to the Marlies temporarily to make room for Nylander in the Leafs lineup but returned for their following game against the Buffalo Sabres. Upon returning, he continued to play with the Leafs until February 27, 2019, when he suffered a shoulder injury. As a result, he was out of the lineup for a month before eventually returning to finish the regular season and playoffs with the Leafs. He underwent shoulder surgery during the offseason after the Leafs were eliminated in the first round the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.
  Although the 2019–20 season would eventually be delayed due to COVID-19, Dermott began the season in late October as he recovered from his surgery in May. In the final year of his contract, Dermott began seeing playing time on the top defenceman pairing after Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin suffered injuries. Following 
caption: Dermott with the Toronto Marlies during the 2018 Calder Cup Final.
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