ZEBROA
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Prospect Info: Alex Nylander (2016, 8th) – '17-18: Rochester #92 (AHL)
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I haven't seen Alex play in Rochester but last WJCs it really struck me how timid he looked compared to last year, never going to the net or into the corners, and quickly throwing passes without ever trying to create something on his own. It was like all his confidence and poise had blown away.
He could be in the NHL tomorrow if he added some urgency and aggression to his game, that’s by far the biggest thing holding him back. He’s allergic to contact.
He’s one of those guys who puts the numbers up against weak competition and folds in high pace physical games. 6-1 against Slovakia you can bet he’s one of the best players on the ice, 2-2 game against Canada he’s scared to touch the puck. Which I don’t get because he’s good enough that he’s not going to get hit very often.
This year is big for him.
Has he been given a lot of offensive zone starts and PP time in Rochester, or have they been throwing him out wherever and whenever to make him well-rounded? I've always thought of him as a pure scorer who would benefit from being given some slack in other parts of the game. Shelter him a bit and he will gain confidence and perform well in what he's good at.
Again though, I might be off target. I base my impressions of him solely on a couple of WJC tournaments, a Sabres game and some highlight reels, plus knowing that he's a similar type of player as William.
This is the catch 22 with how to build a team. If nylander needs less pressure and sheltering etc then he shouldn't be gifted anything. Make him work to round his game out, try to remove the fear he clearly has. How do you fix a toxic locker room if you coddle certain guys who are unwilling to work on areas that need improvement? Granted I'm this guys biggest critic so take what I say with a grain of salt but for me there are 2 options right now...
1. Package him for a better rounded guy who shows commitment to improvement or has proven something to help the top 6.
2. Sink or swim year. You might kill his value with this route or you might make a decent player out of him. He has the skill. No one doubts that. If the effort to improve isn't there...cest la vie.
I don’t see why a team who desperately needs talented wingers would move on from Nylander at only 20 years old. I mean, just because he isn’t ready now doesn’t mean he won’t be good at 22. If he’s in juniors the last 2 years, we probably view him as our undisputed 3rd best prospect and people are penciling him in as a top line winger, he’d be viewed how St.Louis fans value Jordan Kyrou.
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
They have the time to be patient.
The only reason to move Nylander is if you get an NHL top 6 winger that is under team control for 2 or 3 years.
To be fair to him, pushing him into the AHL rather than either convincing him to return on loan to [sic]Mississigua or head back to the SHL did not help his development. If he was following the usual development path, this would be his first pro season. There are some early success stories, sure, but they still have 3 years of control to work out his game.
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UnleashRasmus
Rasmus has gone Super Saiyan VI!
One thing that is an eyesore for me when I've watched him live in person, or on tape, is his play int he neutral zone without the puck and his play when he needs to be in on the fore-check. It's often non-existent. I understand that a team can always use an ALL OFFENSE type player, but at the same time, he's just not very assertive. He seems at times lackadaisical or lost. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, I'm just unimpressed with his desire or thirst to be better. Maybe, I'm flat out wrong and I will be more than happy to eat crow if I'm wrong here. This is the draft pick that we should have had Sergachev or McAvoy instead of Nylander.
Yeah, if it's his heavy feet -- where he does a plant and glide rather than moving to his position or to open space or *heavens* into contention for the puck -- I see that too. I do not see a dogged player in the least, and given his other physical and mental maturity issues, that was prominent in the times I've seen him.
And I'm well aware of who they could have taken. I was all about taking D there.
But we as fans are stuck with him, for better or worse, and his value is not anywhere near where he was when drafted. So the only way out is through - they have to put him through the full development cycle and work on his play off the puck, initiation, and defensive play. I hope they have the patience to turn out the kid rather than getting impatient with their own teaching like they did back with Armia. Different regime, but similar lesson -- they have nothing but time right now, use it.Nylander played with way more pace to his game in his draft year then even now, I went to a game in Niagara when he was with Mississauga and he was involved all over the ice and flying. I remember watching him as an underager in the World Juniors thinking he was the more tenacious of the brothers. Craig Button compared him to Joe Pavelski, he's not like that now.
It really has to be a confidence thing, right? He was stuck on a bad Rochester team with a bad NHL team where he had continuous nagging injuries.
I’ve seen Nylander play in person a couple times and it’s so evident that he has elite skills.
haseoke39
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sufferer
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Well... he did room with COR and who knows what happened with how that situation actually ended and what sort of influence it may have had on Nylander off the ice. The injury last year certainly seemed to take away both explosiveness and willingness to make contact.
tsujimoto74
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Unfortunately, Murray didn't let him go to juniors --- he put Nylander in over his head in the AHL. The question, for me, is whether that decision is a long-term detriment to Nylander's development, or whether Alex can right the ship now that he's reached an age where he should be ready to do some damage as a pro-level player. There's no question the kid has the skill to become a high-scoring winger. I mean, you can look at the last few years' WJCs and see how his scoring prowess stacks up against other prospects his age. He's got work to do, though, and this is a year where (had he been put in a better developmental league) we'd be expecting him to come in and at least make an impact for Rochester. I just don't know if the mistake of putting him in the AHL too soon is one that can be rectified.
I thought this very thing watching him in the most recent WJC. He was quick and dynamic in 15/16 WJC. He seemed to be slowing everything down, though, last January.
dotcommunism
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Jim Bob
RIP RJ
I am glad someone else noticed that. He looked like an exceptional talent back then, it's only the last bit that he has become noticeably timid.
"Everybody's got a plan until they get hit" - Mike Tyson
I would imagine playing with men twice his size and age has introduced a big tentative streak to his game that wasn't there before. I've seen him live numerous times and it's so frustrating how he can't wait to get the puck off his stick as soon as he gets it.
