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Everything William Nylander Thread

AHL seems like a great option. I think that's where I'd have him. You have way more control over ice time, whether he plays at C or on the wing (and he's been playing wing for Modo I think), etc.

From looking at twitter, it appears Mississauga already has two import players on their roster for next season so they took a homerun swing for Nylander.
 
I dunno. I like that they have the OHL option. The kid is still 170 lbs, no?

He might be okay on the big surface with that size limitation, but in the NHL/AHL it could be punishing.
 
He looked like a man playing against boys at the U18. Playing him in junior would be a waste of a year IMO. He is above that level.

His play in camp will dictate where he ends up though.
 
I seriously doubt Nylander will play at the NHL this year. He needs to bulk up his body and not too long ago I listened to the Leafs' player development director (forgot his name ... Hughes?) who talked in length about the time Kadri spent at the minor and how that helped him, and how that helped Getzlaf, Perry etc etc. He said Rielly was an exceptional player but in general both him and Nonis believe prospects should spend time through the system to bulk up their body, and you can't rush that process.

So I dunno if Nylander is another 'special player' like Rielly in their eyes, but I won't bank my $$ on him being with the Leafs this season.
 
The Leafs are thin on the wings so the opportunity will be there for him. He isn't your typical kadri/Getzlaf kind of prospect as he played professional hockey last year. And from a skill level, condition perspective he is probably closer to Rielly than Kadri. The kid may be thin, but he was up there in most of the combine testing like Rielly was. He was in one of the best shapes, which isn't surprising as he is already a professional.

So I don't think him making the Leafs is such a long shot.
 
I don't see the CHL as a real option for him since he won't be making any $$$ while in the CHL. For a guy that has been playing pro and making money to give up making money it will be very difficult.
 
Nylander is a C and it's important we don't convert him into a W. Like Kadri, his best attribute his play making and his vision. We can't take away half the ice from him and make him only half as effective as a winger.
 
Realistically, the best place for Nylander is probably the AHL. It looks like we're graduating Holland to the big club. The AHL is a comparable level of play to what he was seeing in Sweden last year. He's lived in North America for most of his life, so it's not like he needs the training wheels of billets that he'd get in junior to help him make the transition.

He'll get more talented linemates at Ricoh than he would in Mississauga.

He needs to bulk up, and the Leafs are better able to help with that if he's with the Marlies than if he's with the Steelheads.

He needs to adjust to the small ice playing against men.
 
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bulking up is unnecessary. kid killed it on the combine tests. top-10 in four or five of them. 1st in a few of them. he'll get bigger even if stays up, and he'll be far far from the smallest player in the league.

he's much bigger than, say, Skinner was at the same age.

and I could be wrong, but I don't see him as a true centre. He's in the kane/kessel mode of "centre past the redline" player.
 
zeke said:
bulking up is unnecessary. kid killed it on the combine tests. top-10 in four or five of them. 1st in a few of them. he'll get bigger even if stays up, and he'll be far far from the smallest player in the league.

he's much bigger than, say, Skinner was at the same age.

and I could be wrong, but I don't see him as a true centre. He's in the kane/kessel mode of "centre past the redline" player.
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You see Kane/Kessel, I see Giroux.
 
There is no reason he can't play center. He has to be comitted to doing more than just creating office, but with the way the guy skates, controls the puck and makes plays he can be a center in the long run.
 
Definitely reminds me of Kariya in that Nylander is more of a puck-possession and playing winger in terms of style than a natural centre. At his peak he's the type of guy that will post 30-50-80 type numbers because of his passing skills.

He can still score but I think he'll want to hang on to the puck and create more often. Other top prospects such as Jonathan Drouin are cut from the same cloth.
 
I usually don't get too excited about prospects. But the enthusiasm around here for Nylander has got me hyped up now. Hope he ends up playing on the team next year.
 
The guys talent is beyond the junior level. He would learn nothing playing in the ohl for a year. He either makes the leafs or plays in the ahl
 
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