Nylander is (possibly) getting called up

[CarltonTheBear]

What, exactly, is unreasonable about asking a forward to play defense consistently?  I'll save you the trouble: nothing.

In terms of playing defence consistently, 1 game has made you go from "he's played both sides of the puck pretty avidly" to "he's got to eliminate that kind of play, pronto". Just seems like a pretty big leap is all.

He's 19 years old, and he's already shown more commitment to playing defence than, let's just say, Nazem Kadri did when he first broke into the league. One game shouldn't make anybody worry.

 

[herman]

Nylander is also one of those players that judges himself far more harshly than you ever could. His coaches have said he already knows what the coach was going to talk to him about to work on.

His playstyle looks unaggressive and aloof, so maybe that's why it seems like he isn't doing anything when he's not scoring, but Nylander has a knack for sneaky stick checks: nothing loud, nothing dirty; he just takes the puck off of you and then he's gone. If he can't, he tries to skate you into a turnover situation. He's a play-smarter, not-harder-looking type of player.

I don't mind that it's taking him some time to calibrate to the league. You know after 20ish games he's going to start to click. Next year, he'll have better linemates and we'll see more conversions on those passes.

 

[ZBBM]

What, exactly, is unreasonable about asking a forward to play defense consistently?  I'll save you the trouble: nothing.

In terms of playing defence consistently, 1 game has made you go from "he's played both sides of the puck pretty avidly" to "he's got to eliminate that kind of play, pronto". Just seems like a pretty big leap is all.

He's 19 years old, and he's already shown more commitment to playing defence than, let's just say, Nazem Kadri did when he first broke into the league. One game shouldn't make anybody worry.

I guess it's just another case of my expectations running away with me, hey?  8)

No, that effort last night was unacceptable from any professional, at any age.  That's all I'm saying.  I do think he's made a good effort defensively most games.

 

[ZBBM]

Nylander is also one of those players that judges himself far more harshly than you ever could.

Just you wait.

 

[LuncheonMeat]

Nylander is also one of those players that judges himself far more harshly than you ever could. His coaches have said he already knows what the coach was going to talk to him about to work on.

His playstyle looks unaggressive and aloof, so maybe that's why it seems like he isn't doing anything when he's not scoring, but Nylander has a knack for sneaky stick checks: nothing loud, nothing dirty; he just takes the puck off of you and then he's gone. If he can't, he tries to skate you into a turnover situation. He's a play-smarter, not-harder-looking type of player.

I don't mind that it's taking him some time to calibrate to the league. You know after 20ish games he's going to start to click. Next year, he'll have better linemates and we'll see more conversions on those passes.

EDIT: After reading page 4 after page 5, I realized you've already posted this I'm an idiot.

Mirtle had an article up yesterday that talked about Nylander's strengths and playing style - excerpt below. I thought the comments from Sheldon Keefe were interesting. And there's a bit about him training with a MMA fighter  :-X:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/william-nylander-needs-to-prove-hes-got-some-big-league-fight-in-him/article29488306/

What makes him unique has been on display early with the Leafs. When Nylander is effective, he has the puck, which is why the organization has made a big push for him to play at centre. Listed at 190 pounds, he doesn?t look big on the ice, but his principal talents aren?t about strength. They?re his vision and ability to control the play, sometimes by dancing high in the offensive zone ? where the defence typically stations ? to create openings and confusion among defenders.

From there, he can survey the entire offensive zone, and either find a teammate or fire a shot on net.

?His skill set is special,? Keefe, the Marlies? coach, said. ?You really see it at this level. He?s very patient with the puck. His head?s up a lot. He sees a lot of things on the ice that other people don?t see. He?s one of these unique players that has the ability to play at what can often come across as slow because he?s one of those guys that?s slowing the game down. He?s a unique player in that sense.?

 

[CarltonTheBear]

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-game/derogatory-term--leafs-rookie-nylander-deactivates-twitter-account-201536016-nhl.html

Godamnit Lou.

 

[Kin]

I'm looking forward to him getting back on twitter with his new team approved account @appropriatelygroomedhockeyplayer   

 

[herman]

I like willnythehockeyguy

 

[Kin]

I like willnythehockeyguy

"How, er, ah, is that about the name on the front of the jersey?"

 

[Arn]

So looking forward to next season, how good do we think Nylander can be? Especially as he's likely to be surrounded by a slightly better group of top 6 forwards than he has been in this late season extended audition.

He's going to play centre, isn't he? Can he score 70 points?

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

It'll depend on the summer he has and the linemates they give him.

JVR-Nylander-Actual NHL calibre player, could be a nightmare for opposing teams.

 

[ZBBM]

I guessed sixty in the gdt but on second thought I think that's too high. The grind of the season gets to almost all rookies. I'm thinking around fifty now.

 

[bustaheims]

I guessed sixty in the gdt but on second thought I think that's too high. The grind of the season gets to almost all rookies. I'm thinking around fifty now.

Yeah. ~60 points is probably the high end for him next season. 45-50 is much more likely, and would still be an excellent rookie season.

 

[Bender]

It's tough because he has such a shitty supporting cast. It's not even a reflection on him at that point as much as the team around him. I think he needs defensive work, but he will awesome if he puts it together. Babs should tell him to watch Datsyuk or Zetterberg. He can be like them.

I think he hits 40-45pts, but maybe he pulls a Gaudreau and kills it.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

He'll be a rookie but he'll be a 20-year old one with lots of professional hockey experience. Max Domi's leading the Coyotes forwards in points this season with 52 in 80 games, and he's 20 years old coming straight out of junior hockey. So 50 points seems like a reasonable projection to me.

But getting into the 60s isn't out of the question either as long as he gets a good linemate or two, which all depends on how the Leafs management will look at next season. Filip Forsberg is probably the closest rookie we've seen to Nylander in terms of past experience. He had 2 years of professional hockey in Sweden and an AHL season before his first full season on the NHL, and he scored 63 points in 82 games. You can make arguments that help and hurt Nylander's case in that comparison. Forsberg caught on pretty instantly with Riberio and Neal in his first season so that helped him points-wise. But Nylander had better pre-NHL numbers. He played in the higher professional league in Sweden and had better AHL numbers than Forsberg did.

 

[Arn]

It'll depend on the summer he has and the linemates they give him.

JVR-Nylander-Actual NHL calibre player, could be a nightmare for opposing teams.

If Lucic had been a few years younger I think he'd have been a great shout for that spot on the line. Someone of that style could be very good in there.