Toronto Maple Leafs forward Steven Lorentz is having the time of his life right now.

He is playing for his hometown team which he promised himself as a kid he would one day make a reality, thriving in his role as a dependable defensive player, and has scored some big goals along the way. It has not only helped Lorentz become one of the few players to not miss a game this season, but he is in a prime position to get an extension with the Leafs at some point soon.

Going into Tuesday’s game against the Dallas Stars, Lorentz is feeling good about the team’s progress past the halfway mark of the regular season.

“ It’s a great group, I love it here.  Every guy in the locker room brings something different to the team both on and off the ice and you can tell by the success we’ve had,” he said after the morning skate. “It’s not a perfect season, nobody’s going to go 82-0. There’s definitely some slip-ups and some off-games but we do a great job staying on the same page.”

It’s been a quick ascension for Lorentz, who started his time in Toronto with a tryout contract, but in the same breath, it feels like a distant memory for him.

“Going back to training camp, it feels like a blur honestly. It feels like it was a couple of weeks ago and we’re already halfway through the season. Just enjoying this every single time we get to play together. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Lorentz has certainly endeared himself to the fanbase through his name-dropping of Tim Brent after he blocked four shots against the Vegas Golden Knights, his Lambeau leap celly, and having his helmet get stuck in the glass during warmups. In other words: he has become a fan favourite by simply living out his childhood dream.

When the fears subsided, he expressed his excitement at the opportunity, especially knowing his dad would be keeping a close eye on this particular game. After all, this won’t be his first rodeo in a scenario like this as he recalled being on the Carolina Hurricane’s top line with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov.

“It seemed easy just talking to them yesterday,” Lorentz said of Matthews and Marner. “ You see them talking to each other on the bench even when you’re not playing with them and you’re not surprised by how they click so well on the ice. They both think the game at such a high level and they both have the skills to back it up too. I’m not trying to overcomplicate things. I know I don’t have the abilities that those guys do at their level, but I also bring something to the table that can work well with those two as well.”

There is no telling how long he is going to be on the top line, but Lorentz is certainly going to give it his all and do his best to help contribute to the line as best he can. He said that understands promotions and demotions within the lineup are bound to happen, but it boils down to believing in your abilities and having a short-term memory to be successful as an athlete.

Head coach Craig Berube opted to make this change because he felt that the top line needed to add some energy and bringing on Lorentz is what he felt could provide that spark. As for what advice he gave to the winger to help calm his nerves?

“Keep it simple,” he said. “He doesn’t need to change his game. He just needs to do what he does and Matthews and Marner will do what they do. I don’t think he needs to try to force pucks and try to find them and things like that, just keep playing your game and do your thing. When you put a worker with two skilled players like that – a meat and potatoes guy going to the net, hound pucks, great loose pucks for these guys – sometimes they need that.”

This experiment will be put to the test when the Maple Leafs host the Stars on Tuesday night.