Kristen Shilton TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter Follow|Archive

TORONTO – In terms of debuts made during the Maple Leafs’ regular season opener on Wednesday, Par Lindholm’s was decidedly less anticipated than, say, John Tavares’. But in his own quiet, unassuming way, the Swedish Hockey League product and Toronto’s newest fourth-line centre delivered a strong first impression in his first NHL game.

“Not many guys can come over from Europe and end up [at 55 per cent] their first game in the faceoff circle. Usually they just get wacked for the first month,” Mike Babcock said of Lindholm’s performance on Saturday. “He’s ultra-smart. You just trust the guy when he’s on the ice. And he makes plays, real good on the backhand. We think he has a chance to be a good player for us, and fit into our group nicely because he can provide a role for us.”

That’s good news for Babcock, who has struggled to find the right fit to round out Toronto’s group down the middle. Since the 2016-17 season began, Babcock has tried Ben Smith, Byron Froese, Frederik Gauthier, Dominic Moore and Eric Fehr in the 4C spot, plus trade deadline acquisitions Brian Boyle and Tomas Plekanec, but no one’s stuck.

Aside from winning the majority of his draws, Babcock demands a fourth-line centre that’s good on the penalty kill and solid defensively. Throughout exhibition and now into the season, Lindholm has fit that bill. The 27-year-old Kusmark, Sweden native spent the last four seasons with the SHL’s Skelleftea AIK developing into one of the league’s most dominant top-line centreman, but with Toronto’s depth at the position, featuring Tavares, Auston Matthews and Nazem Kadri, Lindholm has to contribute in different ways to be successful.

“There’s been a lot of focus on the defence and getting in the right positions and playing good on our end,” Lindholm said. “I think there’s more to pick up offensively for our line [with Andreas Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen] and for us to create more chances. The main focus is to play solid and help our team.”

Along with proving his proficiency in the face-off dot, Lindholm showed in his first game that he can be an integral part of the Leafs’ penalty kill. He played 2:19 shorthanded against Montreal, third-most among forwards for Toronto, and added two blocks.

Lindholm didn’t hide his difficulties grasping the Leafs’ special team’s systems early on, so being able to successfully grasp them by game one was something of a relief.

“I didn’t feel so good during the first practices and games but I’m getting there. It feels better and better each day,” Lindholm said of the kill. “We’re probably going to get matched up against better power plays as the season goes on too. We talk basically every day about things so I’m not worried about it. There’s more [video] here than Sweden. It’s kind of nice to have the feedback.”

And not just from his coaches, either. Lindholm has turned to plenty of teammates for guidance on anything from structure to restaurant recommendations. His fellow Swedes, like Johnsson, have been especially helpful, and Lindholm has been more comfortable since his girlfriend from home arrived in Toronto two weeks ago.

Johnsson only played 15 games with Toronto last season between the regular season and playoffs, but his ambitions are already lofty for what their line can accomplish as the season goes on.

“He’s a smart player and he’s handled it all really good,” Johnsson said of Lindholm. “He picked it up so fast. But we can do more. We have a lot of speed on our line and when we get out there, when we play fast and move the puck and skate we do really well. When it’s more battling and slower, it’s tougher for us to create more. We can be challenging the other team and I think make some big moves.”

Lindholm remains confident his line's opportunities up front will come, with time and familiarity breeding chemistry by the day. At this stage, just having the defensive side down is a positive. Being as comfortable as Lindholm is overall now with the Leafs was no guarantee when he came to training camp, and he isn't taking this quality start for granted.

“I’m having a hard time getting nervous, so I think that’s a good thing,” Lindholm said. “You have a lot of coaches who help you. You have everything you need to succeed on the ice. There’s a lot to think about and I can do better, but it’s really fun being here.”

Morning skate notes

- When the Leafs signed Tavares in the summer, Babcock had intended to keep Kadri in a matchup role, but he’s putting the brakes on that plan until the whole team gets up to speed on this season: “I’m going to figure out my lines and get everyone on the ice as much as I can,” Babcock said. “If the situation in the game dictates that, then I’ll have it. Naz had a different type of line than he has this year too, so that reflects it as well. But right now the way we’re going is we’re trying to get our people on the ice as much as we possibly can and see them all in in all situations.”

Kadri played with Mitch Marner and Patrick Marleau for the second half of last season, and now has Josh Leivo and Connor Brown on his flanks. Babcock moved Kadri to the wing several times during the season opener to keep him minutes up (he played 13:44) and will continue putting him out on the wing after the Leafs’ special teams come off.

- Justin Holl changed his sweater number from number 54 to number 3. He wore 3 during his first two NHL games last season.

Last Word

“The shot totals have to go down a lot. As good as it is for Freddie [Andersen’s] save percentage, it’s something we need to focus on. If we get the shots down, the goals will go down, and we’ll go from there,” said defenceman Jake Gardiner on how the Leafs’ defence can improve this season. Toronto gave up 36 shots on goal in their first game of the season. ​