An illness kept Holmberg out of the team’s last two games and Wednesday gave him a chance to play with the AHL club.
Pontus Holmberg has had a standout rookie campaign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto’s sixth-round pick (156th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft played in 27 consecutive games with the club before a flu bug kept him out of the team’s last two games.
On Wednesday, the club announced that they sent Holmberg down to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, a surprise given the high praise both his coach and teammate have had for the Swede.
"It's a combination of things, really just to get himself back," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of the move. "I think he went four or five days in a row without skating here and the Marlies had a game last night.
"He wasn't getting much done with us in terms of practicing or playing with us. He'll be back with us soon."
The last time Holmberg suited up was Jan. 12 against the Detroit Red Wings and that was while Auston Matthews was out with an injury. And while Holmberg has performed well, his play began to slip a little.
The forward's 5-on-5 play saw the forward's expected-goals share dip below 40 percent.
Meanwhile, fellow rookie Bobby McMann is set to play in his fourth NHL game on Thursday when the Maple Leafs host the Winnipeg Jets.
Initially called up as a forward to be ready for when Auston Matthews was unable to play due to an undisclosed injury, the forward has impressed on the team's third line, most recently alongside Pierre Engvall and David Kampf.
After initially shaking out the rookie jitters in his first game, McMann performed well in his most two recent appearances. He had the Maple Leafs best expected-goals share at 5-on-5 in the team's 5-4 overtime win against the Florida Panthers (89.7 percent).
So with a fully healthy lineup up front, someone was going to have to come out. Alex Kerfoot fit in well as the team's fourth-line center in Holmberg's absence, making Holmberg's omission the easiest call, at least for the short term.
The 23-year-old Holmberg scored a goal in his return to the Marlies on Wednesday in a 6-5 shootout victory against the Belleville Senators. He has four goals and seven assists in 28 games with the Maple Leafs this season.