It's been roughly six years since Pontus Holmberg last played on the wing but Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was looking to utilize the forward.
Last week, Keefe decided he wanted to get the 24-year-old going again. After describing the Swede's training camp as "underwhelming", Holmberg made his season debut once the Maple Leafs pulled rookie center Fraser Minten from the lineup and subsequently returned him to junior.
But ever since the Leafs moved Max Domi over to the middle from the wing on Nov. 5, Holmberg hasn't had room to get back into the lineup. Rather than wait for a center spot to open up, Keefe moved Holmberg over to the wing over the last three games, a position the player says he hasn't played in six or seven years.
So what's the biggest challenge for Holmberg?
"More sprints," he told The Hockey News. "More hardworking on the forecheck."
If it's harder work for the player, it certainly didn't look like it when he played against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. Holmberg scored the most impressive of Toronto's seven goals on Tuesday. He pushed past Sharks defenseman Kyle Burroughs to flick a puck through Kaapo Kahkonen using just one arm on the entire possession.
Mitch Marner, who had two goals and two assists was beside himself reacting to Holmberg's goal.
"That's a hell of a goal there by Bergy, that's why he's my favorite player in the NHL," Marner told TSN's Mark Masters in the second intermission of the team's 7-1 victory.
Keefe has been blown away by Holmberg's development ever since he first laid eyes on him during the Maple Leafs' rookie tournament in Traverse City, Michigan in September of 2022. Toronto's sixth-round selection (156th overall) at the 2018 NHL Draft, the player surprised many by playing in 37 games with the Leafs, his first full year on North American ice.
"He just doesn't make a mistake," Keefe said of Holmberg after a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in November of 2022.
Holmberg was rewarded at the end of the 2022-23 season with a two-year, one-way contract worth $800,000 on an average annual value.
But as rookies do, Holmberg eventually did make some mistakes and has been on the long road back to finding regular playing time in the NHL.
In the last three games, Holmberg has had to play on the wing. On Tuesday, Noah Gregor missed the game due to illness and Holmberg was moved to play on his off wing on the right side for the first time.
Albeit it was against a bad team that fell to 9-29-3, and all three of those games on the wing have been against teams at or near the basement, the Leafs feel Holmberg has room to grow and bring another dimension to his game.
"We've felt he's got a lot more to offer us than what he's given us this season when we've used him," Keefe said of Holmberg. "These last couple of games I've liked, which is why we've seen him here back in the lineup.
English is improving
Holmberg joined the Maple Leafs without knowing any English and has relied on teammates like William Nylander to help with his translation. But in his sophomore season with the Leafs, the player's English is improving.
He watches a lot of Swedish shows with English dubbing. And he's a big Manchester United fan.
"You can only watch those games in English," he said.
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