Holmberg played a season-low 11:18 in Saturday night's 4-1 loss to the Rangers.
Pontus Holmberg had a strong training camp with the Toronto Maple Leafs, however, it hasn't gone to plan since then.
The 25-year-old forward has just one point through his first five games while averaging 13:11 of ice time with Toronto's third line. For the most part, Holmberg has played on the wing of John Tavares with Nick Robertson on the other side.
On Saturday night, in the Maple Leafs' 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers, Holmberg took a bad penalty and was on for a goal against. The goal came on a delayed penalty that Holmberg caused, which would have been his second infraction of the night.
Following the game, Toronto head coach Craig Berube said the forward's been a step behind after a strong training camp.
"I thought he came out in camp and had a real good camp. I think, to me, he's got to battle a little bit harder for pucks and hang on to the pucks a little bit more like he was in training camp in the offensive zone and things like that, kind of just get up to speed," Berube said.
"He looks just a little step behind maybe right now."
Berube has raved about Holmberg's strength at both ends of the rink. And the forward was a strong 200-foot player last season as well. But for whatever reason, things just aren't going the forward's way early in the season.
In training camp, Holmberg admitted that he felt strong, and while he could've been better with the puck, he liked his pre-season play. The forward also conceded that he likes being at center more than on the wing, which he's playing right now.
"More involved in the game. You can play a little bit more in the d-zone and play more with the puck," Holmberg said when asked why he likes center more than the wing on Sep. 25. "I like wing too so I can play with more physicality when I'm a winger."
The Maple Leafs have a lot of depth in all positions, and they like what they're seeing from all of their centermen — Auston Matthews, Max Domi, John Tavares, and David Kampf — right now.
