News Article: The Nylander Saga.

[Wafflewhipper]

This guy was shafted by p!ss poor negativity since his draft. I hope everyone is getting sick of chewing crow and BullsH!T they spewed about him. This article chronicles some of the same negatives he still recieves to this day. This is whete it all started.

great job proving them all wrong Willy Willy has not hit his prime yet. 40/40 is likely in the cards a couple times in the next few years. This kid just keeps getting better as a player and person. Nothing bad to say about him so no threads for pages. So i made one ha

Big Read: What the Maple Leafs risked by drafting William Nylander - Sportsnet.ca

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[Wafflewhipper]

Kappy’s not around to take pictures with all the girls anymore ha. Muzzies job now lol, hey hey muzzy we are up here

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Doninated the worlds,dominated the nhl goalies. This is just the start of it likely

 

[Future]

Great player.

 

[Merrrlin]

#2C of the future here in Toronto.

 

[AllDay28]

I saw him the day he signed and returned to Toronto for the presser. He was at Yonge station with a beautiful Romanian lookin girl. He was pretty shy and like dug his face into her arm so ppl wouldn’t notice. I just looked over, she smirked , I pointed like “that’s who I think it is” and they got on the westbound and left. Good time’s. Good kid. Wish nothing but the best for him

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Great player.

Yeah he really is

 

[Wafflewhipper]

I saw him the day he signed and returned to Toronto for the presser. He was at Yonge station with a beautiful Romanian lookin girl. He was pretty shy and like dug his face into her arm so ppl wouldn’t notice. I just looked over, she smirked , I pointed like “that’s who I think it is” and they got on the westbound and left. Good time’s. Good kid. Wish nothing but the best for him

He dug his in to her arm and lol

 

[Wafflewhipper]

What a awesome year he had. 2g 2a in 5 playoff games. Would have been nice to see his team advance in the playoffs. He is or should be a 20 minutes per game player but is still only average 16 minutes and change career average to this point. Keefe used him in the high 19 minutes and 20 or well over 15 times in the 45 games he coached him. Willy is getting way more respect from Keefe.

Lets watch how his career under keefe flows

 

[Wafflewhipper]

42 pts in 45 games with Keefe and 23 goals in that time with Keefe. Thinking a good match and mutual respect building there.

 

[Antropovsky]

42 pts in 45 games with Keefe and 23 goals in that time with Keefe. Thinking a good match and mutual respect building there.

Wasnt he benched for a short time in a playoff game? I could be wrong.

 

[Nooodles]

I feel sorry for this kid. The amount of hate he gets is simply disgusting.

Do you remember the days when we were whining about other teams "home grown talents" and why we never have any of them? The Pohls, Johnny Mitchells, Simon Gamaches days?

I do.

Now we have him, and three other amazing forwards, but this kid is still special, and still only 24. Other teams would die to have him on their roster.

Leafs nation just dont deserve talents like him.

 

[stickty111]

Great player to have on your team. He plays to expectations, and doesn't make excuses after a poor season. 6.9 is fantastic value for him.

 

[stickty111]

I feel sorry for this kid. The amount of hate he gets is simply disgusting.

Do you remember the days when we were whining about other teams "home grown talents" and why we never have any of them? The Pohls, Johnny Mitchells, Simon Gamaches days?

I do.

Now we have him, and three other amazing forwards, but this kid is still special, and still only 24. Other teams would die to have him on their roster.

Leafs nation just dont deserve talents like him.

Yup all accurate.
I love the way Nylander approaches it much like Matthews though. They just go about their business and don't care what the outside noise says.
It's nice to see the development and growth by him over the years.

 

[Trapper]

Dolph Lundgren should play him in the movie someday.

 

[Mickey Marner]

I wonder who Morrison wanted instead of Biggs, who was drafted 22nd, not 21st as the article states. I assume it was either Morrow or Puempel. It wouldn't be worth mentioning he was overruled at 22 if he got his guy (Percy) at 25. Unless Burke overruled both selections.

 

[Menzinger]

I think Nylanders transformation this season is a good lesson that some guys take longer to figure out parts of his game.

The common critique that was thrown at him of being a "perimeter player". He spent an offseason working on his shot accuracy and then was one of the league leaders this season of goals scored in close proximity to the net.

It helps that there's a coach who believes in his potential - ie slotting him in the 1st pp unit. He seems like a player who thrives more with increased responsibility

 

[Stephen]

I think Nylanders transformation this season is a good lesson that some guys take longer to figure out parts of his game.

The common critique that was thrown at him of being a "perimeter player". He spent an offseason working on his shot accuracy and then was one of the league leaders this season of goals scored in close proximity to the net.

It helps that there's a coach who believes in his potential - ie slotting him in the 1st pp unit. He seems like a player who thrives more with increased responsibility

Nylander has really worked on his body to play a heavier game. Came into the league as a slight skilled player but now he’s quite the low center of gravity pepper pot type. You see him able to really cycle and hold the puck down low but seems like his first instinct is still to peel off and retreat to the perimeter at times. Hopefully he just gets more aggressive and develops along a Brayden Point type of fearless drive to traffic areas type game.

 

[Nineteen67]

He takes a hit to make a play.....just kidding.

 

[TML Dynasty]

Great thread. Like to read positive stuff about our guys! I hope his game keeps progressing!

 

[Leafsfan74]

He lived up to his end of the contract and has learned to play a more high percentage game. Nobody should have an issue with his season, I certainly don't. I still have my issues with his contract at that time, but, I'm not going to put that on him, that's managements job.

I also know this much, we don't need more players like him. We need more like Hyman, plus a few more pounds, to balance out the forwards and provide a different look.

I read a rumor posted by some random unknown somewhere that apparently Simmonds would consider the Leafs on a one year, "show me" contract. Speculation aside, that's the player type we need more of to balance out the forwards. I could even see him playing with Hallander on a line. I'm high on this young kid without knowing much simply because Leaf scouts had their eyes on him for some time, and, the fact he models his game off of Hornqvist. They don't need to score more than 10-15 goals each. Just bring a presence that keeps the other D's busy.

90s hockey isn't coming back, though I've also openly stated my critique of the two-tier reffing system in the NHL: regular season and playoffs. However, we also aren't going to see 1980's come back in full force anytime soon with great success.

Gamers don't need to play a dirty game, fight or throw barreling checks every shift (though some checking would help liven up the ice), they just need to battle hard to be effective. That is never going to be replaced by a lineup of pond hockey players, which Leafs forwards resemble at time. They don't have the fight in them that's needed to win a Cup.

 

[Gabriel426]

In terms of improvement. Willie improves his game a lot and you can see him getting better.

I think his next step is winning board battles and just drive to the net more. He certainly has the built for that.
What impressed me most was the fact he showed up after losing to the Zamboni driver the next day on a day off.
Coming from a former youth rugby coach, that’s something I appreciated and noticed whenEve my players want to train more.

 

[Menzinger]

Nylander has really worked on his body to play a heavier game. Came into the league as a slight skilled player but now he’s quite the low center of gravity pepper pot type. You see him able to really cycle and hold the puck down low but seems like his first instinct is still to peel off and retreat to the perimeter at times. Hopefully he just gets more aggressive and develops along a Brayden Point type of fearless drive to traffic areas type game.

I do think that's a fair critique too. He shows flashes of it, but if he maintained a playing style with a bit more bite it would round out one of the last parts of his game that could change

 

[ChickenMcNugget]

What did they risk drafting Nylander? the article doesnt even address the title at all.

 

[Metroid]

I dig nylander, f the haters!