William Nylander moved back to the wing at Maple Leafs practice

Sheldon Keefe and the Maple Leafs generated plenty of buzz earlier this preseason when the head coach announced his plans to play William Nylander down the middle to begin camp.

Now, with just a week to go until the NHL season gets underway for real, Nylander was back on the wing at practice on Wednesday.

The Maple Leafs hit the ice in Gravenhurst, Ont., Wednesday as part of the team's annual retreat and fan outreach efforts in cottage country, rolling out lines ahead of their preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.

While several notable players were missing including impressive first-round selection Easton Cowan — whose absence was expected given reports he would remain in Toronto for the team's trip— the club's lines certainly gave the impression of a team crystallizing the top of its roster, including William Nylander on the second line flanking John Tavares alongside Max Domi.

After practice, however, Keefe downplayed the move, saying he wanted to get Fraser Minten — Toronto's second-round pick from 2022 — some more reps centering the third unit. Whether Minten or Nylander starts the season as the team's third-line pivot remains to be seen.

Nylander has played in just two of the Maple Leafs six preseason games to this point, recording a lone assist in a 5-4 overtime loss on Monday to the Montreal Canadiens. Instead, it's the aforementioned youngsters, Cowan alongside fellow top Maple Leafs picks Matthew Knies and Fraser Minten, that have stolen the spotlight and shaped the narratives surrounding Toronto's preseason schedule.

Though it's unclear exactly where the Nylander-down-the-middle experiment goes from here, Keefe told reporters during Media Day that there was some long-term vision to the effort.

"It's not going to be a one-off or a one-day thing or one pre-season game," the Maple Leafs bench boss said. "We want to give it some time."

Last season, the 27-year-old recorded career highs for the Maple Leafs in goals (40) and points (87). The flamboyant star is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.