William Nylander to start training camp at center, while There are a few more changes as Toronto gets set for back-to-back games against the Montreal Canadiens. The main group of Maple Leafs took part in practice on Friday following the second group's morning skate before heading to Montreal. And some of the alterations to the main group were quite interesting. After missing part of training camp due to a lingering injury, Bobby McMann returns and is on the top line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. It's an opportunity for the forward to impress after cracking the NHL roster last season. "It feels great (to be back out there), honestly," McMann said on Wednesday. "It's been a lot of individual skates, a lot of time working on skills, feeling good, just trying to get it back to normal and it feels a lot easier. Less thinking about it when you're out there with the guys." [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8202hys2BE[/embed] Alex Steeves also has a chance to show the Maple Leafs' staff that he could be ready for the next step as he's skating with Max Domi and John Tavares on the second line. The 23-year-old has one goal in two pre-season games so far. The opportunity for McMann comes as Tyler Bertuzzi plays in Friday night's game in Montreal with the second group, as does Matthew Knies, Sam Lafferty, and Nick Robertson. Marshall Rifai is a player, too, who's getting a chance to play with a full-time Maple Leaf in Jake McCabe. It'll be fascinating to see, if the duo does remain, how Rifai handles a second-pairing role against Montreal. Another projection is that defenseman Simon Benoit will play his first game as a Maple Leaf on Saturday night after missing part of training camp with an injury. He was paired up with prospect Topi Niemela on Friday at practice. William Nylander was supposed to skate with Toronto's main group on Friday, but "flu-like symptoms" kept him off the ice, says LeafsPR. John Klingberg also wasn't on the ice due to an upper-body injury which occurred on Wednesday [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/breaking-news/maple-leafs-john-klingberg-day-to-day-with-upper-body-injury] in their game against the Buffalo Sabres. Calle Jarnkrok was seen skating on his own Friday but hasn't rejoined Maple Leafs practice yet, according to TSN's Mark Masters [https://x.com/markhmasters/status/1707797546393915546?s=20]. "Just day-to-day for him," said head coach Sheldon Keefe on Wednesday. "Something came up in practice a few days ago and just hasn't quite settled yet, nothing we're too concerned about." The 32-year-old is yet to play a pre-season game for Toronto this fall. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNTk1MTUxMDE2NDM2ODQ0/cf1808c0-6a82-4298-9049-3eb2eae105b0.jpg] Related Maple Leafs' John Klingberg Day-to-Day With Upper-Body Injury [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/breaking-news/maple-leafs-john-klingberg-day-to-day-with-upper-body-injury] Maple Leafs Release Roster for Pre-Season Game Against Canadiens on Friday, Where to Watch [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/game-day/maple-leafs-release-roster-for-pre-season-game-against-canadiens-on-friday-where-to-watch] Why Ilya Samsonov Hasn't Yet Played a Pre-Season Game for the Maple Leafs in 2023 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/breaking-news/why-ilya-samsonov-hasnt-yet-played-a-pre-season-game-for-the-maple-leafs-in-2023] News from THN.com Anaheim Ducks and Trevor Zegras Remain Locked in a Contract Standoff [https://thehockeynews.com/news/anaheim-ducks-and-trevor-zegras-remain-locked-in-a-contract-standoff] THN On The 'E': Top ECHL Eastern Conference Storylines [https://thehockeynews.com/podcast/thn-on-the-e-top-echl-eastern-conference-storylines] THN On The 'A': Discussing Edvinsson, Cuylle and New Blue Jackets Coach in Training Camp [https://thehockeynews.com/podcast/thn-on-the-a-discussing-edvinsson-cuylle-and-new-blue-jackets-coach-in-training-camp]
