The Maple Leafs practised at Ford Performance Centre on Friday.
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It’s been a quiet training camp for William Nylander.
“The pre-season has been what it is, but I just focus on Wednesday,” said Nylander, who scored once in three exhibition outings.
The Leafs open the regular season against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena.
Nylander fired just five shots on net during pre-season play and finished the exhibition games minus-three. He averaged 3.1 shots per game last season while finishing plus-10.
“We know what Willy can do,” Craig Berube said.
After a pause, the Leafs head coach continued.
“I mean, when it’s time to go, he’ll be ready to go.”
Nylander scored a career high 45 goals last season, which was second overall in the NHL behind only Edmonton Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl.
“I always have goals, you know, to be better than the previous year,” Nylander, 29, said. “So that’s where my mind’s at.”
Nylander scored 40 goals in each of the two previous seasons before raising the bar in 2024-25. The potential for more goal scoring is there.
Has the possibility of scoring 50 goals crossed his mind?
“I haven’t thought about it [until] you brought it up,” the Swede said with a smile. “But, yeah, that would be something that would be fun to accomplish. But, you know, a lot has to go right for that to happen. So, I mean, that’s not the focus. Focus is on just playing well and, you know, solid team hockey and helping to contribute offensively.”
Nylander experienced one lengthy dry spell last season, scoring just once in an 11-game stretch from Dec. 23 to Jan. 14. If he avoids a similar lull this year, 50 goals may be within reach.
“He’s good enough to score more goals,” Berube agreed. “But you’ve just got to play the game, and he’s got to play the game the right way and play the game the way you want to play. He had great success doing it last year.”
“Production is obviously, you know, a part of it showing that you’re playing well,” Nylander said. “But sometimes goals come, sometimes they don’t even though you’re playing well. So, I mean, only, the team and yourself know when you’re performing to your best.”
Nylander converted on a career-high 17.8 per cent of his shots last season, which may be hard to maintain. His career average is 13 per cent.
New Leafs third-line centre Nicolas Roy describes Nylander’s shot as “sneaky.”
“Wouldn’t say he’s got the best shot, I guess, when you look at it, but it’s so quick and he knows where he’s putting it every time,” Roy explained. “So that’s why I say sneaky.”
Nylander on potential to score 50: ‘A lot has to go right’ William Nylander is coming off a season where he scored a career-high 45 goals but is 50 goals something he thinks about as a goal for this season? The Leafs forward insists he always has goals in mind but ultimately, it’s about team success. TSN’s Mark Masters has more.
With 102-point producer Mitch Marner leaving for Las Vegas, Nylander is now Toronto’s undisputed top winger. The team will likely lean on him even more for offence this season.
During a sit-down interview with TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, Berube was blunt when asked about the next level for Nylander.
“The other level just comes from, I would say, more predictability and just, like, you know, a little more effort at times,” Berube said.
Berube is also calling on Nylander to take on a greater leadership role following the departure of Marner, who served as an alternate captain. The Leafs did not name a new alternate for this season, but Nylander wore an ‘A’ in two pre-season games.
“The leadership side of things has continued to grow specifically over the last year and certainly to start off camp here,” said John Tavares, who is Nylander’s longtime linemate.
“I know he’s excited to continue to get better and be a difference maker.”
After the Leafs allowed 42 shots in an underwhelming pre-season loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, Nylander was the last player on the ice at Friday’s practice.
“Pre-season is to get stuff going the right way,” Nylander said. “Hasn’t really been going like that in the pre-season games so we’ve got practices here to get that turned around.”
Dreger goes 1-on-1 with Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube sat down with TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger to discuss the outlook for his team this season, the comfort level he has with his goaltending at the moment, what annoyed him about the Core 4 label, what he wants out of William Nylander, his confidence that Auston Matthews is fully healthy and more.
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Nylander has never shied away from the spotlight in Toronto. In fact, he usually embraces life under the microscope.
The new season of Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Faceoff: Inside the NHL’ premiered on Friday and, for the second straight year, Nylander is featured.
“They did a really good job,” he said. “I think it’s fun for fans to follow along.”
Nylander recently launched his own YouTube channel to give fans even more access.
“I would never do it, but if there’s a guy that can do it, I guess it’s probably him,” said Roy.
“I don’t know if I got the personality for that quite yet,” said winger Dakota Joshua. “But you never know.”
Joshua and Nylander played together in some youth tournaments growing up.
“It’s funny to see him now that we’re all grown up and, yeah, he’s one of a kind,” Joshua said with a smile.
Has he changed at all?
“He’s still the same,” Joshua said with a grin. “Still the same.”
‘I would never do it: Leafs appreciate Nylander’s accessibility The new season of the Amazon NHL docuseries has started and William Nylander will be a key figure throughout the series. A few of his teammates couldn’t imagine putting themselves out there like their forward but have witnessed his humour first-hand.
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Veteran centre Scott Laughton is out week-to-week after blocking a Moritz Seider shot off the inside of his left foot during the second period of Thursday’s game.
“It’s a tough loss for him and us,” said Berube. “Obviously it’s a bad break. He’s had a real good camp. Yeah, it’s tough for everybody.”
Laughton struggled after being acquired by the Leafs at the trade deadline last season. He produced just two goals and two assists in 20 regular season games and just two assists in 13 playoff games.
The 31-year-old from Oakville, Ont. vowed to start strong this season and produced four points in three pre-season games to tie for the team lead.
“You really feel for him,” said Tavares. “He had a great summer and was really excited to get off to a fresh year [after] settling in here with the work that he put in, and certainly he was having a great camp for us and trending really well going to the season.”
After impressive camp, Laughton’s injury a tough blow for Leafs The Maple Leafs will be without centre Scott Laughton to start the season after ruling him week-to-week with a lower-body injury on Friday. His teammates say it’s a tough break, especially for someone who has been having a great camp.
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Laughton had been skating on the fourth line between Steven Lorentz and Easton Cowan.
Berube was asked how Laughton’s absence may impact Cowan, who is trying to crack the roster at age 20.
“We’ve liked Easton’s camp a lot,” Berube said of the franchise’s 2023 first-round pick. “I loved him in practice again today. He was very noticeable out there. We have to see how it plays out still.”
David Kampf replaced Laughton as the fourth-line centre at Friday’s practice.
“With Kampf filling in for Laughton, or whatever it is, I don’t think it changes Easton’s game that much,” Berube stressed. “I think Easton can play different roles for you at different times. I know he is young and still has a lot to learn, but I love his energy and his hound mentality. He has really good puck skills.”
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Cowan’s ability to play the right wing as a lefty is also an asset at this camp.
“How he took those pucks off the wall in the defensive zone, you know, that’s a good skill set,” Berube said. “Like that’s not an easy play for a lot of people, but he knows how to do it.”
Cowan also played on the right side during his junior career with the London Knights.
Nylander is the only right-shot winger currently skating in Toronto’s top 12 forward group. Max Domi is lining up on the right side of the top line while Matias Maccelli and Dakota Joshua have taken turns on the right on the third line.
“I’m comfortable,” said Joshua. “Just more of a read and react when you’re coming back into the defensive zone. But [Maccelli’s] been really good with that and he feels comfortable as well.”
The handedness issue is only part of the adjustment for Toronto’s third line, which features three newcomers.
“Work in progress, right,” Joshua said. “We’re all just trying to get on the same page as each other. It doesn’t happen overnight, but just trying to pick each other’s brains on and off the ice and make sure we’re working hard to cover all the bases when we’re out there.”
Roy (two games) and Joshua (three games) did not hit the scoresheet in their pre-season appearances.
“Slowly getting there,” Roy said. “A couple of chances last game. Obviously would like to bury one of those, but I think we had more offensive-zone time last game than we did the first game, so that’s a good step.”
Calle Jarnkrok, who has been skating on the fifth line, is the other right-shot winger option available.
Leafs Ice Chips: Cowan continues to impress on off wing Following Leafs practice Friday, forward David Kampf was put on waivers, making his position on the team unclear. Meanwhile, Easton Cowan once again impressed with head coach Craig Berube gushing about his young forward. TSN’s Mark Masters has more.
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After being a healthy scratch in 12 of 13 playoff games last spring, Kampf has skated as the fifth-line centre most of training camp.
“It feels better when you are in the first four lines,” Kampf said. “So hopefully it will stay like that.”
The Leafs placed Kampf, who is under contract through the 2026-27 season with a $2.4-million cap hit, on waivers after Friday’s practice and after the media sessions concluded.
“Of course it’s hard,” the 30-year-old from Czechia said of his precarious place in the lineup. “I think everyone wants to play, wants to be in the team, so it was hard for me. But I’m trying to be positive and work hard every day.”
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Lines at Friday’s practice:
Knies – Matthews – Domi
McMann – Tavares – Nylander
Maccelli – Roy – Joshua
Lorentz – Kampf – Cowan
Pezzetta – Jarnkrok – Robertson
McCabe – Tanev
Rielly – Carlo
Ekman-Larsson – Benoit
Thrun – Myers
Mermis
Stolarz
Hildeby
Reimer