After Saturday’s practice, head coach Craig Berube discussed the signing of Alex Nylander to an NHL contract, Auston Matthews returning to skating, and a rare Saturday night off.
Practice Lines – Nov. 23
Forwards
McMann – Tavares – Marner
Robertson – Holmberg – W. Nylander
Grebenkin – Minten – A. Nylander
Steeves – Dewar – Lorentz
Reaves (suspended)
Defensemen
McCabe – Tanev
Rielly – Ekman-Larsson
Benoit – Timmins
Myers – Hakanpaa
Goaltenders
Stolarz
Woll
What did it mean to you and the group to see Auston Matthews back on the ice?
Berube: It is great. He skated on his own today, and he is feeling a lot better. He skated today and will probably get on the ice again tonight.
What can Alex Nylander bring to the lineup?
Berube: Well, he has skill. He scores a lot in the American league and has played well down there. He has good hands, vision, and can score goals.
Did you think about putting the Nylanders together to see if there is chemistry there?
Berube: Not right away. We will see what happens and how it goes.
What have you heard about the Grebenkin – Minten – A. Nylander trio from the Marlies?
Berube: They have been a good line down there. It is a small sample size for Minten with his injury, but they have played some games together. They have a little bit of chemistry — Grebs and Minten a little bit more from camp. We will see how it goes.
With what Nylander has produced in the AHL (eight goals in 14 games), there are some injuries up here, but it also seems like he’s shown enough to earn it.
Berube: He has earned it. Injuries happen, and guys get an opportunity.
He went to Columbus last year and did a pretty good job. He scored some goals there in the NHL. He has NHL experience, which is good. We are all excited for him. I know his brother is really excited. Willy was scoring a lot of goals today in practice.
How similar do Alex and William look to you on the ice as players?
Berube: A little bit, I guess. They are different, but they are similar in aspects. Willy is such a good skater and is smooth out there. They’re a little bit different.
We didn’t see Max Domi out on the ice. Is there any update there?
Berube: He is still rehabbing. He is not ready to get on the ice yet.
Are you going to keep the goalie rotation spinning, or is the shutout from Joseph Woll going to change the plans?
Berube: We are still discussing it. We will let you know tomorrow on that one.
How helpful was it to have an extra day to work on details?
Berube: I thought it was excellent. Yesterday’s practice featured a lot of stuff we haven’t done in a while. We got some things accomplished yesterday. Today was more of a normal practice — a little bit shorter, and we worked on special teams at the end a little bit because we didn’t touch on that the other day.
It is nice to get a little break here and get a little practice time to work on things we haven’t worked on in a while.
Is it a little weird not having a game on a Saturday night?
Berube: It is. I am shocked. I didn’t think it was allowed for the Leafs not to play on a Saturday night, but we will take it.
Will you watch a lot of hockey tonight?
Berube: Yeah. Normally, I watch some sort of hockey every night. Tonight, I will be watching Utah play.
William Nylander on finding out the news that the Maple Leafs signed Alex Nylander
I was looking at taps for my condo. I was with my dad. Brad called me and told me we were signing Alex. It was a very special moment for sure.
Words can’t really describe it. This is what every hockey-playing brother pair wishes for as kids — to be able to do it with your brother. It is really special. It will be amazing tomorrow night.
Alex Nylander on William’s reaction to the news
He was really happy. He actually knew before I was able to call him. I was going to try to tell him when I came home, but he knew already. He was super happy.
My dad was so happy and got emotional, which was really awesome to see. It was awesome yesterday… There are very few times he gets emotional, so you don’t really see that from him, and it was just awesome. Special moment for my family and I.
Auston Matthews on returning to the ice: “Feeling a lot better now”
It kind of flared up a little bit in preseason. It felt better, and then it was kind of getting worse. Thought it was time to step back and re-evaluate it. We just took it day-by-day.
It hasn’t necessarily gotten worse, but it hasn’t gotten better. We wanted to be proactive. Collaborating with the team, they were extremely supportive of going over to Germany and seeing someone I have seen before and someone I’m comfortable with, just being proactive and looking to feel better as soon as I can.
… I am feeling a lot better. It is good to be back on the ice and see the guys. That is the toughest part about being away and being hurt: not being around the team as much. It has been great to watch them from afar with the way they’ve been playing in the past few weeks.
I am feeling a lot better now, and hopefully, I am going to continue to progress over the next few days and see where I am at.
