William Nylander (Left) and Michael Nylander (Right). William is a top prosect for the 2014 NHL Draft. (Photo c/o of svt.se)
They’re very few father/son duos who have had the privilege to play professional hockey alongside each other on the same team. Yet alone, when the son is a 17-year old kid on the cusp of being drafted. That’s exactly the situation William Nylander found himself in this past year.
William's father is former NHLer Michael Nylander. The younger Nylander moved from Modo J20 to Sodertalje (Allsvenskan) to Modo (SHL) to Rogle (Allsvenskan), on loan, in order to provide Michael Nylander an opportunity to play with his son. Nylander then went back to Sodertalje after playing 18 games with Rogle, and finished the year in Modo.
That’s a lot of change for a young player.
Between Modo J20, Modo SHL, Sodertalje and Rogle this season, Nylander had 16 goals, 18 assists for 34 points in 57 games played.
Nylander is rated by NHL Central Scouting as the 2nd best European skater behind Kasperi Kapanen. ISS Hockey lists the 5’11, 169 pound center as their fifth best prospect in their March rankings. TSN’s Bob McKenzie lists Nylander as his 11th best prospect in his mid season rankings.
Nylander's agility and fluid skating makes him a wizard with the puck. He’s one of those players that is capable of making things happen at top speed, much like his father once did. His excellent skating makes him very difficult to knock off the puck. Offensively, Nylander is more of a playmaker who can make the pinpoint passes in traffic. He’s always looking to pass first and shoot later. If you are his line mate, one must be ready, as he will provide ample opportunities.
Here is highlight video of Nylander flashy skills.
Going back and forth all season between different leagues and teams I think had somewhat of a negative aspect on him earlier this season. While it must have been neat to play alongside his father, I think he should have stayed with Sodertalje.
If he were playing in the CHL, I think he would have put up great offensive numbers and challenge Ekblad and Reinhart for the number one spot. However, playing in Sweden against men is much better for his development since he needs to focus on getting stronger (Think Nugent-Hopkins draft year size) and better defensively, which are his two main flaws.
To his credit, Nylander had an incredible second-half of this past season. Compared to previous Swedish players drafted like Mika Zibanejad, Elias Lindholm, and Filip Forsberg, Nylander’s better offensively than all of them. His skating overall is the best of the group and he will run your power-play. Defensively, he’s the weakest and the smallest. Nylander can also play wing which makes him versatile to NHL clubs.
Many say he’s one the most dynamic Swedish prospect since Nicklas Backstrom. I say he's more like Robert Nilsson I hiope I'm wrong though as Nilsson never lived up to his potential when he was drafted 15th overall by the Islanders in 2003. I wasn’t the biggest fan of his from the start, and I’m still hesitant to include him into my top 5 due to his size and defensive game. I’m waiting on his performance at the U18 Worlds this month since he did not show his skill set at U20 WJC. He’s still 2-3 years away from being NHL ready. If he bulks up in the offseason, he could be a top line player in the SHL next season.
Right now, I think Nylander is a top 10 pick. A team like Carolina would benefit from drafting him. They selected Elias Lindholm fifth overall last season and building your prospect pool down the middle is a good way to go. Also, watch out for the Ducks who hold Ottawa’s first-round pick. Nylander would provide support up front and the Ducks can afford to sit him for a few years.
