Sports

If Komarov makes the team, he is certain to be a nuisance for opposing East foes and likely to emerge as a fan favorite in Toronto. "He's a pain in the ass," smirked teammate Carl Gunnarsson, who has competed against Komarov internationally. "He never stops working, he keeps going." An Estonian who grew up in Finland, Komarov is a pest in the simplest terms, the very sort of tick known to drive an opposing team wild with a constant battery of rough and tumble hockey. "This is a player who's in your face all night," said Korbinian Holzer, a member of the German national team who also is in the Leafs' camp. "He knows which buttons he has to push to get you pissed off and get you going and get you off your game." A 2006 selection, Komarov won the KHL championship as a part-time captain with Moscow Dynamo last year, and he is intent on landing an NHL job.