William Nylander confidently pushed his way through the largest crowd of reporters that have been at a Toronto Maple Leafs practice this season to take the same place he’s been throughout the entire series against the Boston Bruins, despite not having played a minute: At the centre of attention.

The Leafs star winger has been kept out of the playoff lineup with an ailment the team and Nylander – speaking for the first time all series – have declined to identify. This has led to constant speculation over Nylander’s health since the beginning of the series.

Nylander has long marched to the beat of his own drummer. Even with heightened scrutiny regarding his absence, Nylander remained tight-lipped following his first full practice since the start of the first-round series.

“Look, that’s just personal,” Nylander said about what has kept him out of the series. “So I’m not going to get into that.”

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