Sheldon Keefe critical of rookie forward's performance in first game following huge promotion

Earlier this season, following a call-up from the Toronto Marlies, Pontus Holmberg was very quick to earn the praise of his head coach, Sheldon Keefe. Holmberg came in and played the right way, committing to a responsible two-way game, which prompted Keefe to reveal to the media that Holmberg doesn't have any real holes in his game.

With the news that Auston Matthews would miss at least the next 3 weeks due to a knee sprain yesterday, Keefe provided Holmberg with an excellent opportunity to show what he could do with increased minutes against tougher competition on Friday. Unfortunately for Holmberg, Keefe did not enjoy much about his performance in the top six, which may very well lead to a demotion back down to the bottom six on Sunday.

One of the main points of frustration for Keefe on Friday was that Holmberg took 6 minutes worth of penalties in the contest, including a double-minor for high sticking in the 1st period. The Leafs did kill off the 4-minute penalty, but were not so lucky on Holmberg's 2nd period tripping penalty, surrendering a power play goal to give the Sens a lead that they would not relinquish.

As great as Holmberg has been in the bottom six this season and as much promise as the 23-year-old has shown so far this season, it's important to remember that he is still a rookie and, at the end of the day, rookies make mistakes. Holmberg will undoubtedly learn from this and continue to get better. For now, though, it appears that he is better suited for a role in the bottom six.