Easton Cowan, Matias Maccelli headline Maple Leafs’ roster for preseason tilt vs. Canadiens

The Toronto Maple Leafs head to Quebec to face the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, with Easton Cowan and Matias Maccelli among the notable players making the trek out east.

The team released their roster for the preseason contest, with a lineup that is once again lean on veteran players and is instead comprised mostly of youth and depth.

Cowan skated on the top line at the morning skate alongside Scott Laughton and Steven Lorentz, a clear indication that the Leafs want to get a long look at him in various spots before determining where he will start the year. He was among the standouts through the first two games and earned praise from head coach Craig Berube and captain Auston Matthews, suggesting he at the very least has a shot to make the NHL roster out of camp.

Maccelli is fresh off getting a trial run on the top line alongside Matthews and Matthew Knies, where he will now get a look alongside Bobby McMann and David Kampf on line two. Berube did allude to preferring Maccelli work his way up given how poorly the prior campaign went, so this would be a good test to see how he would fare lower down the lineup if that’s indeed where he starts.

Dakota Joshua, Philippe Myers, and Henry Thrun are among the other notable players who will be making the trip to La Belle Province. One player who won’t be going is Nick Robertson, who impressed in the preseason opener with a goal and got some scoring chances in the second contest. He was assigned to make the trip around this time last year, so the fact that he is not going this time is quite an interesting development.

Dennis Hildeby is the projected starter for the contest and should get the bulk of the minutes if not all of it, against the Canadiens. He played with more poise and composure that wasn’t seen during his rookie NHL season, which bodes well for his development. Given the fact that it remains unclear how long Joseph Woll will be away from the team, there is a decent chance that Hildeby will be utilized in the early going for a second straight season.

Maple Leafs’ projected lineup vs. Canadiens

Forwards

Steven Lorentz – Scott Laughton – Easton Cowan

Bobby McMann – David Kampf – Matias Maccelli 

Dakota Joshua – Jacob Quillan – Vinni Lettieri

Michael Pezzetta – Benoit-Olivier Groulx – Ryan Tverberg

Defence

Dakota Mermis – Philippe Myers

Marshall Rifai – Henry Thrun

Cade Webber – Matt Benning

Goalies

Dennis Hildeby

Vyacheslav Peksa