Craig Berube experiments with youthful third line ahead of Utah Hockey Club game

As reported by Maple Leafs Daily, head coach Craig Berube has decided to change the combination and rookie Fraser Minten now centers the line with Alex Nylander and Marlies teammate Nikita Grebenkin.

This trio has a history of chemistry from their time with the AHL's Marlies and Berube hopes they can bring that synergy to the NHL level.

Alex Nylander who recently inked a one-year NHL contract worth $775K just joined his first practice with the Leafs on Saturday.

While fans were excited about him playing with his brother William Nylander, Craig Berube kept them apart by signaling a strategic focus on maintaining balance across the lineup.

The Leafs have also promoted Nicholas Robertson to a top-six role with all the injuries the team is facing.

He skated with Pontus Holmberg and William Nylander and was taking advantage of a wave of absences which includes Max Domi, David Kämpf and Calle Järnkrok.

The top line which has Bobby McMann, John Tavares and Mitch Marner remains unchanged because they were offering consistency to the lineup.

On the fourth line, Connor Dewar replaces Steven Lorentz at center.

Defensively, Oliver Ekman-Larsson returned to practice following an illness and reunited with Morgan Rielly on the top pairing.

Simon Benoit and Conor Timmins skated together again which is indicating Jani Hakanpää will likely be scratched for the second consecutive game.

The Leafs' ability to leverage depth players like Nylander and Robertson is critical as they weather a challenging stretch of injuries.