The Toronto Maple Leafs welcomed Pontus Holmberg to the fold in recent weeks and it looks like he’s made it stick.
Not only have the Toronto Maple Leafs coaching staff been praising his efforts, he’s also shown his shooting ability in recent games, notching goals against New Jersey and Pittsburgh.
All the while, his ice-time is still hovering just above 10 minutes per game or around 13 shifts per game. Thus his 3 points (2 goals and 1 assist) seem a little more impressive.
Perhaps the most important fact when it comes to the Swedish center is that he was a 2018 sixth round (156th overall) pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs, making his ascension that much more notable.
Holmberg Is The Latest Late Round Toronto Maple Leafs Graduate
It really highlights quite the record of late with the Toronto Maple Leafs when it comes to graduating strong AHL performers drafted in the later rounds to the NHL successfully.
Per Natural Stat Trick, Holmberg isn’t getting too much wrong at 5-on-5. He has dished out 6 hits and taken 11 hits in return, has drawn 2 penalties and only has 1 giveaway to his name.
More importantly, he has a 54% puck-possession rating, and a 53% expected goals rating. It’s a short sample so far, but when Holberg plays, the Leafs win his minutes.
He’s the ideal consistent option to interchange with David Kampf on bottom-six center duties. Noting of course that the Toronto Maple Leafs can always shift Alex Kerfoot to center too.
Moving forward, it’d be great to see add some more elements to his game; it’s not much of a stretch to suggest he could be a useful asset on the penalty-kill.
A lot rests on how the team continues to manage his ice-time; the hope will certainly be that as he grows more confident, they allow him an extra few shifts here and there.
All in all, considering he was a sixth-round pick, the fact that he’s centering any line for the Toronto Maple Leafs is remarkable.
The fact that he’s doing it with the minimum of fuss and just getting the job done at the NHL level speaks to a decent piece of scouting and player development.
Pontus Holmberg right now looks like someone that has taken his opportunity and is making the absolute most of it.
His only challenge will be the fact that he’s one of two waiver-exempt forwards on the roster, meaning he really has to continue to work for every opportunity while others are out injured.