Dion Phaneuf, unquestionably, is the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

But a question mark continues to hover as to which player is the team’s most dominant player, their on-ice leader.

James van Riemsdyk, in some corners, was unofficially given that lofty title. The loss of former linemate Phil Kessel certainly left the big winger with the opportunity to repeat as the team’s leading scorer, a title he earned a year ago, even with Kessel in the fold.

For now, there is more ground work to cover before van Riemsdyk can comfortably assume any perch as the team’s bonafide leader, whether it’s official or not.

He is, undeniably, within the brackets of the top three players on the team.

As the Leafs grind out four consecutive practices this week, van Riemsdyk’s true potential is being further defined in a familiar area to him — down low, around the opposition team’s net.

“Obviously he’s a big talented guy, with good hands. We’re in the process of trying to help him become a more dominant player around the cycle,” Babcock said as the Leafs had an off-ice workout Tuesday.

“I think he can do that, I think he’s working hard at that, he’s been really open and receptive to feedback. I think he can be a real important player for us. As long as a guy wants to get better, you won’t have much trouble helping him. That’s important.”

Babcock certainly is familiar with the value of a big man down low, having propelled the Red Wings to a Stanley Cup and 10 consecutive playoff appearances with former star Tomas Holmstrom.

While the Leafs are in transition as a franchise, van Riemsdyk’s role as a big body in front of the net has been a constant in his career.

That role may be tougher than ever to fill for van Riemsdyk, since one of the pinnacles of Babcock’s systems is the fluid movement between offence and defence for all five players on the ice. That means, potentially, that van Riemsdyk has more skating to do than anyone on the ice, if he’s locked in battles in front of the net, then required to motor back up ice.

It will require increased fitness, a detail the Leafs are underlining with their new sports science division. For instance, the Leafs are among the first NHL teams to use Catapult Sports’ GPS technology, which is a tracking unit, placed in a custom vest under a player’s shoulder pads.

For now, that remains a work in progress — a familiar refrain around the Leafs. But van Riemsdyk and the players also want wins to show for the new and improved approach to practice and games they are seeing under Babcock.

“Two of the three games we did good things, but we didn’t get the results we wanted,” van Riemsdyk said, referring to the Leafs 0-2-1 record and 12 goals allowed.

“But we’re working on it and we’ve put a good foot forward so far. We have this week (of four consecutive practices) to dial things up and move forward with our game.”

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Van Riemsdyk’s personal move around the net has been reversing the puck between his legs, with his back to the net, for either a pass or shot on goal.

It’s a move he’s worked on since his college days at the University of New Hampshire, where he’d come out early for practice with the goalies and work on the move and tipping shots from the point.

“It’s funny you asked, because in college I did that . . . and they’d give me a hard time for it,” van Riemsdyk said, laughing, about former New Hampshire assistant coach Dave Lassonde, who remains a friend.

“I bumped into Dave (now on the coaching staff at Dartmouth University) and we had a laugh about it again.”