Tyler Bozak, right, has stood out at Maple Leafs training camp and might open the season with Toronto on Oct. 1.Tyler Bozak, right, has stood out at Maple Leafs training camp and might open the season with Toronto on Oct. 1. (Darren Calabrese/Canadian Press)

Sid the Kid will give way to the Kid Line at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Tuesday night.

Maple Leafs hopefuls Tyler Bozak, Christian Hanson and Viktor Stalberg, all 23, will be looking to put on a good show, and not only because the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins are in town.

The Toronto trio has turned heads at the NHL's training camp with Bozak, a standout at Denver University last season, reportedly the closest to locking up a spot on the 23-man roster.

But it wouldn't be a stretch to see all three — who share an apartment in downtown Toronto — suit up for the Oct. 1 season opener against the visiting Montreal Canadiens.

With more than 30 players still in the main body of camp, Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson is expected to trim the roster after Tuesday's contest.

Bozak and Hanson, fresh off his fourth season playing right wing at the University of Notre Dame, answered Wilson's call for improved conditioning after signing with Toronto in April.

'I definitely feel more powerful'

Bozak came to camp weighing 195 pounds, up from 170 a year ago, while Hanson packed 16 pounds of muscle on his six-foot-three, 224-pound frame and reduced his body fat to seven per cent.

"I definitely feel more powerful and stronger out there," Bozak, a centre who signed a two-year deal with the Leafs, told reporters recently.

Left-winger Stalberg, drafted 161st overall by former Toronto general manager John Ferguson Jr., is probably the least known of the three but has impressed at camp with his all-around game.

Another Ferguson draft pick, defenceman Carl Gunnarsson, is expected to face a Penguins lineup minus Sidney Crosby and skate alongside Ian White.

Overlooked three times in the NHL draft, the 22-year-old played for the bronze medal-winning Swedish team at the 2009 world championship on the heels of a solid season with Linkoping of the Swedish Elite League.

"He had an excellent world championship … and he's smart and very sound positionally," said Toronto GM Brian Burke of the six-foot-two, 189-pound Gunnarsson, chosen 194th overall in 2007.

"His point shots get through on net, and at a tippable height. He will definitely play [with the Maple Leafs], if he gets stronger."

Toronto is 3-1 in the pre-season including a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh on Friday. Jason Blake, John Mitchell, Juraj Mikus and White scored for the Leafs, all on the power play.

The Penguins fell to 1-2 in exhibition play with a 4-3 loss to Montreal on Monday.

They used star forwards Evgeni Malkin and Crosby together for the first time in the pre-season but were hurt by sloppy defensive play.

On the injury front, Maple Leafs goalie Jonas Gustavsson skated with the team's reserve players Tuesday morning but will not play against Pittsburgh. He had an ablation process a week ago to restore a proper heart beat.

Defenceman Mike Van Ryn, who is slow to recover from a knee injury, likely will return to the lineup for Wednesday's matchup against the Sabres in Buffalo.