Lorentz earned a spot out of training camp after joining the Leafs on a tryout.
Steven Lorentz projects to be in the Toronto Maple Leafs' opening lineup when the club visits the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre for their home opener on Wednesday.
The forward was slotted on the team's fourth line alongside David Kampf and Ryan Reaves during Monday's first regular season practice.
Lorentz signed a one-year deal with the Maple Leafs on Monday and didn't even get a chance to look at his phone when the deal was announced before hitting the ice at Ford Performance Centre.
"I don't know what the text message situation is like," Lorentz said following practice. "I'm just excited for an official Game 1 to be able to pull that jersey over."
Lorentz won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers last season and joined camp on a professional tryout. He saw a role for himself as a penalty-killer and someone who can play in the bottom six.
The Kitchener, Ontario, native grew up as a Maple Leafs fan as his father, Mark, grew up watching the team and still does.
"I got this passion from my dad, Lorentz explained. "He's obviously over the moon."
Lorentz had some options, but in addition to his fandom for Toronto, there was some obvious open slots for depth forwards with the Leafs.
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"I just looked at the lineup here and I thought there was a lot of potential to be able to come in. And obviously with the talent offensively that they have that I could just carve out a role in the bottom six," Lorentz said.
Nick Robertson earned one of those spots with his solid pre-season play. Max Pacioretty also won a spot over Nick Robertson for opening night.
There's lots that can happen beyond Game 1, but Lorentz's role on the fourth line is a good start.
"It was an opportunity that every kid would dream of," Lorentz said. "I kind of knew that this was a really good opportunity for myself. And I just I decided to take it."
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