Pressure situations

After the first week of training camp, several Leafs are already on the bubble for a roster spot

Prepare to be disappointed. That was the message Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle gave on the eve of another round of roster cuts on Thursday. After one week, 23 players are gone. And yet, there are still 41 players remaining at training camp.

That means between now and the start of the regular season on Oct. 8, another 18 will be cut to in order for the team to get down to the required 23-man roster.

“As we all know, there’s jobs available to people that are here competing, and there is going to be some tough decisions for us as coaches and management,” Carlyle said. “But we’re going to make the decisions that are in the best interest of the hockey club. There’s going to be people who are going to be disappointed obviously.”

With two weeks remaining in training camp, Post hockey writer Michael Traikos looks at are five players on the bubble:

William Nylander

In his first exhibition game, the 18-year-old looked every bit like an NHLer. One night later, he looked his age.

That is the difficulty in assessing the eighth-overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft. Nylander clearly has NHL speed and NHL skills, as he showed in his pre-season debut when he picked a defenceman’s pocket for a goal. But after Nylander turned over the puck for a goal against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, it is also clear that Carlyle has no stomach for letting the youngster learn on the job.

“Fun for who?” Carlyle said with a laugh when a reporter asked if it was fun watching Nylander and Nazem Kadri on a line together.

The difficult part for Nylander is not only does he have to show he is NHL-ready, but that he is a better option than David Clarkson, David Booth or even Josh Leivo.

Petri Kontiola

The Finnish veteran paid about US$600,00 to get out of his KHL contract in hopes of re-launching his NHL career. So far, it is not working out like he had hoped.

“No excuses,” a dejected Kontiola said after Wednesday’s game, in which he was a non-factor centring a line with Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. “I’m not doing that well right now and I know it. That’s about it.”

After spending the last five years in Europe, most within the Leafs organization expected Kontiola would need time to adjust to playing in the NHL. And yet, the bigger problem does not seem to be the smaller ice surface, but rather a lack of foot speed. Maybe that will change as Kontiola learns to better position himself. But right now, Peter Holland and Mike Santorelli appear to be better options for the final two spots down the middle.

Colton Orr

When the Leafs brought in Daniel Winnik, Leo Komarov and Matt Frattin, it seemed like it would be the end of the line for one-dimensional enforcers like Orr and Frazer McLaren. Then again, Carlyle is still the head coach. And he apparently still sees value in protecting skilled players.

“We don’t want to fear going into any building, because players can’t play with fear. They won’t reach their potential with fear,” Carlyle said. “We’re going to do an assessment on what we feel is best for our hockey club that is going to give us a chance to compete in every building we go into.”

This does not necessarily mean Orr and/or McLaren, who combined for 13 fights but had no points last season, will be on the team. Instead, expect Troy Bodie, who had four fights as well as three goals and 10 points in 47 games, to challenge for a spot.

Korbinian Holzer

With the starting six defencemen set in stone, the competition is for the seventh spot on defence. While Henrik Tallinder has the experience and Petter Granberg and Stuart Percy are the new flavours of the month, Holzer might be the forgotten man.

After playing 22 games with the Leafs in 2012-13, where he had an unseemly minus-12 rating, a lack of job openings forced him to spend all of last season in the minors. Holzer might not have as much upside as Granberg or Percy — two players who should be developing with the Marlies rather than sitting in the press box — but he is winning over Carlyle with his steady defensive play.

“For me, that’s the best [I’ve seen] Korbinian Holzer play,” Carlyle said after the team’s first pre-season game on Monday. “He was up on the play. He was physical. He made smart plays and decisions with the puck in the defensive zone.”

Mike Santorelli

So much about training camp is finding a fit either on a line or in a role. For some, like Komarov, it’s fairly obvious. For others, like Santorelli, it is bit more difficult.

The speedy centre, who has played with Kessel, Booth and Brandon Kozun in camp, has the ability move up in the lineup. But if he is going to make the roster, he will have to find a niche on one of the bottom two lines.

“We’ve tried to play him in some offensive situations and on the penalty killing. He’s going to get opportunities,” Carlyle said of Santorelli, who scored 10 goals and 28 points in 49 games for the Vancouver Canucks last season.

“We brought the player in thinking he can make a contribution just depending on wherever in the lineup it is.”