The Toronto Maple Leafs practiced and scrimmaged at the Ford Performance Centre on Wednesday, as time ticks away before head coach Sheldon Keefe makes a final decision on his roster before the club enters the bubble this weekend.
Winger Andreas Johnsson was on the ice taking shots before practice and Keefe stated that the injured winger will accompany his teammates to their sequester at the Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto, even though he is not expected to be available until September.
Team Matthews locked up a series victory over Team Andersen with a 1-0 win in Game 4 thanks to a John Tavares overtime goal. Defenseman Justin Holl did not participate after being hit in the mouth in practice, but Keefe indicated afterward that he was alright and would not miss any time.
Other than Travis Dermott replacing Holl, the Leafs left their line combos and pairing in place from the previous day, with rookie Nick Robertson skating on the third line with Alex Kerfoot and Kasperi Kapanen and Pierre Engvall playing with Marlies Tyler Gaudet and Nic Petan.
Toronto has given the 18-year-old an extra-long look during Phase 3 and his placement in the top nine at this late date is leading to speculation that the OHL’s goal-scoring leader could see some action against the Blue Jackets.
"You are dealing with the best of the best in the NHL. In the last little while here, we've moved (Robertson) up to be playing against a lot of our best guys and with some of our best, so giving him that feel and all that, that's part of the adjustment. That's really where we've been at here with Nick, is trying to find ways to give him increased experience." Keefe said. "Every other player that's in this camp has had experience and has played in the NHL played games in the NHL, played in the minors and they know what to expect from those experiences. We have an idea of what to expect from them. Nick is the wildcard, in terms of what he can bring and how quickly he can adapt and adjust, but we have to be able to give him those opportunities to be able to see how quickly we get him up to speed."
As impressive as Robertson has been at times, Keefe continues to scrutinize the young winger’s performance and has kept a level head about the potential of being inserted into a playoff scenario with no professional experience under his belt.
"(Nick) hasn't been able to get (his shot) off very often. That's probably the biggest difference, when I watch him in practice and you can see that it's a real strength of his, but the challenge is adjusting to this level and there's not as much time to get it off." Keefe said. "In the first couple scrimmages, he didn't have a shot on goal. It's taken a little while to get up to speed. He seems to be getting more involved in getting more shots, he had a couple of good ones today, being on the power play helped that."
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