The Toronto Maple Leafs have revealed their starting lineup for Sunday’s game against the Ottawa Senators as the preseason gets underway and the long journey to June kicks off. The puck drops at 7:00 pm EST at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. There is a rule regarding how many NHL players the team needs to put on the ice in the preseason, but even with that, the amount of star power geared up for the Leafs makes this contest exciting.
Leafs’ Stars on Full Display on Sunday
Sure, the games may not count, but it’s been a long summer, and we don’t have to wait any longer to see the Leafs’ best skaters in action. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Max Domi will all be dressed tonight. So will John Tavares and Ryan Reeves. Matthew Knies and Calle Jarnkrok are in the lineup as well. And Max Pacioretty will make his Leafs debut. Pacioretty has yet to sign with the club after joining the Leafs on a PTO a couple of weeks ago.
William Nylander will officially start his experiment at the center and hopes his new coach, Craig Berube, will give him a longer leash than his former bench boss. “I told Chief (Berube) the most important thing is, you can’t just play one game if you want to try center,” Nylander said of the move. “We agreed on that and we’ll give it a go and hopefully, it goes well.” Nylander took a friendly shot at his former coach when asked why it didn’t work last year. “I don’t know, you might have to ask my old coach about that.”
On defense, newcomers Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson will be dressed on Sunday, along with Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe, and Timothy Liljegren. Tanev and Rielly have played together at the World Championships in the past and are looking forward to reigniting their previously found chemistry.
Rookies Get Their Shot as Preseason Opens
Much has been made of Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten this summer and training camp. Still, with Minten being hurt during the rookie games last season, Cowan and Mikita Grebenkin will share the spotlight tonight in Toronto. Cowan made it all the way to the final cuts in last season’s training camp before going back to London, Ontario, for the regular season, scoring 34 goals and 96 points on his way to an OHL championship.
Grebenkin was drafted 135th overall by the Leafs in the 2022 draft. He had 19 goals and 41 points with Magnitogorsk Metallurg of the KHL, who also won a championship last season. Berube likes the toughness the 6-foot-1 forward plays with. “Very noticeable for me, a big, strong kid, first and foremost – A good hockey IQ and not afraid to take the body.”
NCAA standout Jacob Quillan will play tonight after signing a two-year entry-level deal with Toronto last spring and hopes to break camp with the team. “I want to make the Maple Leafs,” Quillan said last week ahead of the rookie games.”‘So that’s my expectation.” The 22-year-old finished the season with the Marlies after his Quinnipiac University Bobcast were eliminated from the NCAA playoffs. Quillan scored the game-winner two years ago to beat Knies’ Gophers to win the 2023 championship.
Final Thoughts
While the games may not matter in terms of the standings, it’s nice to watch the stars and prospects alike as hockey returns. The city of Toronto is buzzing about the Nylander experiment, so it’ll be interesting to watch it in action. Joseph Woll and Matt Murray will be between the pipes tonight, with both netminders likely getting action. Shane Pinto, Drake Batherson, and Thomas Chabot are players of note who will be dressing for Ottawa.
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