William Nylander led Toronto with five shots in a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
William Nylander led Toronto with five shots in a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
The first preseason game for the Maple Leafs has come to an end, which means it's time to discuss who stood out.
A few storylines ahead of their first game in Ottawa against the Senators were how William Nylander would look at center, Matthew Knies' first NHL preseason game, and how some of the bubble players, like Alex Steeves, looked.
Nylander's training camp debut at center
We've seen the 27-year-old play center in the past, but with Toronto likely giving him an extended look there, what might we expect?
One of the things that stood out early was his speed through the middle of the rink. The Maple Leafs don't really have a lot of speed at center with Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and David Kampf.
If Nylander sticks in the middle, they could be a more difficult team to play against in the transition.
The idea of keeping Max Domi on the line to create chances and take faceoffs for Nylander on his off side is smart, too. Nylander is both a playmaker and a goalscorer, but having someone like Domi could open the door for scoring for the 27-year-old.
A big storyline early in Maple Leafs training camp was Matthews getting shifts on the PK. Nylander had some in Ottawa on Sunday and looked to fit the role. Again, with his speed, if a team coughs the puck up at the blue line, the 27-year-old could capitalize with a breakaway going the other way.
Is Knies a fit in the Maple Leafs' top six?
This is one of the biggest questions for the Maple Leafs entering this season. Knies showed a lot of promise during the playoffs in Toronto's middle-six, but can he do it over an 82-game season?
He, like Nylander, was getting some shifts on the penalty kill. I can recall one shift where he was hounding the puck immensely and even got into it a bit with Ottawa's Brady Tkachuk. The 20-year-old used his big body a lot too.
I have Knies pencilled to make the Maple Leafs out of training camp, though where he'll play is yet to be seen. The NHL rookie will likely play somewhere in Toronto's top nine to start the year.
The other guys who stood out for Toronto
- Alex Steeves had a huge opportunity for himself playing on a line with Nylander and Domi. I thought he did fairly well in that role, often finding the open space to be there for a pass and even finding the back of the net.
Looking at his season with the Marlies last year and that celebration, you can see that it was a big goal for Steeves. Where the 23-year-old ends up after Toronto's first preseason game will likely give us a hint about where he might begin the year.
"(My) headspace is the same as it always is," Steeves told Sportsnet's Kyle Bukauskas during the second intermission. "(I) just gotta take care of my own stuff and be a good teammate and hopefully good things happen."
- Roni Hirvonen had a great first showing for Toronto. He had several scoring chances for the Maple Leafs. His ability to find open ice, especially against top-level opponents, was impressive.
- Fraser Minten looks like he took another step following his season in Kamloops. Although the 19-year-old is heading back there following Maple Leafs training camp, his strength on and off the puck stood out.
Minten can be an impact player for Toronto in the future. And with how he played in Ottawa on Sunday, using his skating and shiftiness against opponents, fans should be excited for when he's ready to play in the NHL.
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- Max Domi had a number of chances and set up a couple for Steeves and Nylander. His ability to play both center and wing will be a big help as Toronto tries to transition Nylander to the middle. That could also allow him to have more goal scoring opportunities.
- Hirvonen-Shaw-Ellis as a possible Marlies line? As intrigued as I am about the Maple Leafs' top players, I'm equally interested to see how some of their top prospects are deployed during training camp.
Hirvonen skated with Marlies captain Logan Shaw and Max Ellis, possibly making up one of the Marlies' top lines this season. It's still early, obviously, but it's fascinating nonetheless.
- Keith Petruzzelli was busy for Toronto in the two periods he appeared in. The 24-year-old stopped 25 of 28 shots but looked very good positionally throughout 40 minutes.
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