The Toronto Maple Leafs held their season opening media availability on Wednesday to kick off the start of their training camp. While they have had regular season success, the playoffs have been anything less than kind to them. It’s a new season and a fresh start for everyone.
There were plenty of talking points as the team gets set for another year where the focus is going to be on a Stanley Cup run. One of the key points was the fact that head coach Craig Berube is already having a different mindset for how his roster may be constructed. According to Sportsnet’s Luke Fox, Berube is going to put William Nylander at centre, making Max Domi an option for the wing.
Playing Nylander at centre has been a talking point for some time, but hasn’t gained any traction for a number of reasons. This time, it may be different as he’s poised to possibly get more of an opportunity to play the position as he has had experience in the past playing up the middle.
Nylander Has Chance to Thrive Up the Middle
Last season, then head coach Sheldon Keefe made the decision to try Nylander up the middle of the ice, saying that it wasn’t going to be a one-time thing. While the experiment was on again off again throughout the season, Nylander didn’t see any time at centre consistently. He spent the majority of the season back on the wing where he thrived offensively and bounced back and forth.
Many have come to know Nylander as a speedy and highly skilled winger that can do a lot of damage. The last three seasons have really shown that as he eclipsed the 40-goal mark twice, the 80-point mark three times and the 90-point mark once. He has really elevated his offensive production. However, he took a bigger step to round out his game, earning time on the penalty kill, averaging a minute of ice time per game and scored three short-handed goals (seventh overall in the league).