Leafs Star William Nylander Confronts Head Coach Craig Berube About His Ice Time
Photo credit: Maple Leafs on X
Berube has a very clear method to his madness, prioritizing work ethic and playing the right way -- straight line hockey, with not much appetite for the East-West style that often results in neutral zone giveaways, which lead to counter attacks for the opposition.
One of the players in Toronto who has not necessarily benefitted from the change in style has been William Nylander, who has seen his ice time dip to the lowest it has been in 4 seasons, with the Stockholm native drawing only 18 minutes of ice time per game, down nearly 2 minutes from last season.
Berube is very team-first in his approach to the game, which could be one of the reasons why he doesn't worry too much about ice time. Individual accolades and concerns don't seem to resonate with Berube, as the team's performance is the primary focus. Still, it will be interesting to see how Berube and Nylander navigate this situation, with the skilled winger requesting a larger role with the team.
Perhaps a few shifts on the penalty kill will be enough to satiate Nylander and get him up over the 19-minute threshold and this all goes away. Or, the other potential outcome here is that Berube keeps Nylander where he is now, close to the 18-minute mark, creating some potential conflict down the road if the ice time issue is not addressed. Time will tell.
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
POLL |
OCTOBRE 31 | 1954 ANSWERS Leafs Star William Nylander Confronts Head Coach Craig Berube About His Ice Time Do you like the idea of having William Nylander on the Leafs' penalty kill? |
Yes | 994 | 50.9 % |
No | 960 | 49.1 % |
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