If it were based on the performances through the preseason alone, the Toronto Maple Leafs would bring a roster chock-full of rookies and other young players of limited experience to opening night.
But many more factors are considered when it comes to roster selection, and head coach Mike Babcock was quick to remind reporters of that Friday in advance of the team's final cuts.
"In my history in the league I've rushed some players the odd time and then they end up back in the minors and to me that's counter-productive," he said, according to Jonas Siegel of the Canadian Press.
"So we don't want to err on the over-excited side. We want to err, I think, on the cautious side. And if we make a mistake at the start of the year (those players are) allowed to change your mind over 20 games in the American League and get back. To me, that's the right mistake not the other way around."
Though music to the ears for the likes of Brandon Prust - who's trying to earn a contract in camp - and Roman Polak - who's competing for minutes with Nikita Zaitsev, Connor Carrick, and Frank Corrado - Babcock will, to an extent, have to manage this risk.
Toronto's third unit to start is expected to be Auston Matthews centering a combination of kids from a group that includes the likes of William Nylander, Zach Hyman, Mitch Marner, and Connor Brown.
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