William Nylander appreciation thread

[Martin Skoula]

i think he needs to engage players a little more when he doesnt have the puck. often times i see him just watching the play instead of battling defensively(in their own zone). amazing player and hes getting better.

If there's already 4 guys battling for the puck, him joining that battle is useless compared to being in the right spot to move the puck after the scrum. Every time I watch him and think he's being lazy and puckwatching, he ends up with it on his stick 1 second later.

 

[shortfuze]

If there's already 4 guys battling for the puck, him joining that battle is useless compared to being in the right spot to move the puck after the scrum. Every time I watch him and think he's being lazy and puckwatching, he ends up with it on his stick 1 second later.

I’d rather he help the defence out instead of watching the play. I see him to many times watching the puck in the corners or on the wall as he waits for his teammates to go in and get the puck. It’s soft and lazy. That’s not to say he never goes in himself but he could do it some more.

 

[Aashir]

30 in 29
On pace for 37 goals and 48 assists
He’s been on a tear and is really good

 

[Menzinger]

30 in 29
On pace for 37 goals and 48 assists
He’s been on a tear and is really good

Just needs a wee bit of puck luck he could have a legit chance at 40 goals

 

[LeafSteel]

Guy has been all business for a while now.

Doesn’t get talked about enough here but he is absolutely flying and has some amazing chemistry with Tavares going right now.

Contract is well earned here.

 

[Havoc]

The front view replay of his zone entry before the goal.....oh man. Better make this guy retire a Leaf.

 

[justloveleafs]

Mcteeth hates him, cause he is so loved....

 

[Puckstuff]

Very good value contract

 

[ZEBROA]

Hope he keeps this up through the playoff like last year.

 

[TheProspector]

Willy has pretty much always performed this way. The main difference this year is more than 2 additional minutes of ice time per game. Other than his post contract year, he’s been unstoppable since 19 years old.

 

[Oscar Peterson]

Willy has pretty much always performed this way. The main difference this year is more than 2 additional minutes of ice time per game. Other than his post contract year, he’s been unstoppable since 19 years old.

Disagree. The ice time helps, but he's also consistently a lot stronger on the forecheck than he used to be and also has more confidence to attack the net now, he stops up and drops it back to the D a lot less than he used to in his first few seasons and (rightfully) tries to make a high danger play instead.

His shot has also become a lot more diverse, in his younger years he would try and go top corner glove side on almost any shot and would wind up missing the net often when the goalie would cheat with his glove, he's a lot more unpredictable with that now and has rightly learned to prioritize a quick release over perfect placement.

Good case of a skilled player maturing and learning how to use his skill more consistently. Right now he's a beauty, would love to see him hit PPG this year.

 

[BodaciousBeefBazooka]

Always had a soft spot for him...and obviously the likes of Marner and Matthews as well. I want them to do well and bring justice to this franchise.

 

[justloveleafs]

He, Willy, has unselfishly, built his body up, to a thickish state now, to be able to take the contact and physical play of the nhl.

Could he go into corners now, yes, he could, and he might add that to his game...

I have two friends who know hockey so well, its kind of shocking...

Both like NyLander, a lot...

Only guy who dislikes Nylander is my least favourite Leaf...

Everyone else loves Willy...

 

[Michael HOMERUNing]

For the people suggesting Marner is better can you point to something other than point totals? Marner has played 400 more minutes than Nylander the past 3 seasons, and with the best goal scorer on the planet, so his point totals should be a lot higher.

 

[ULF_55]

Leafs powerplay without marner ...

Looks to me like Nylander has taken over the position that marner usually has, on the right point - ish.

Rielly now is the puck distributor. He used to pass it marner and it seemed marner became the puck distributor. So one puck, two players to distribute.

Looks today, to me, that Nylander is very capable of doing two things when he gets the puck, distribute the puck, or shoot from a distance.

I do think he needs to a little more aggressive in the d-zone but that seems to be coming along, but have to give appreciation to his backchecking this season.

 

[Mickey Marner]

The main difference I see is he plays with much more agency now. His whole sequence on the second goal is something that he's always had the capacity to perform. But now he does it with regularity, rather than occasionally.

 

[Notsince67]

Willy has pretty much always performed this way. The main difference this year is more than 2 additional minutes of ice time per game. Other than his post contract year, he’s been unstoppable since 19 years old.

Totally disagree. His game has changed a lot. Even keefe has noted the change

 

[ULF_55]

Totally disagree. His game has changed a lot. Even keefe has noted the change

Remember the flamingo that got all the airtime?

Part of that is fear that it is going to hurt, less fear better performance.

I'm sure he's seen enough now to know that yes, it is going to hurt, but if your smurf teammate can do it ...

 

[Racer88]

I love Willy’s game now…….keep up the good work

 

[Peasy]

Leafs powerplay without marner ...

Looks to me like Nylander has taken over the position that marner usually has, on the right point - ish.

Rielly now is the puck distributor. He used to pass it marner and it seemed marner became the puck distributor. So one puck, two players to distribute.

Looks today, to me, that Nylander is very capable of doing two things when he gets the puck, distribute the puck, or shoot from a distance.

I do think he needs to a little more aggressive in the d-zone but that seems to be coming along, but have to give appreciation to his backchecking this season.

So many people wanted Willy there last year when the pp was struggling so much it was so frustrating watching them make no change and try the same shit over and over again. Nylander showed that first year with Matthews he's more than capable of playing the right half wall on the pp and is much more of a shooting threat than mitch is at that location. Hope it keeps working for them and they continue to mix up the pp look.

 

[Martin Skoula]

So many people wanted Willy there last year when the pp was struggling so much it was so frustrating watching them make no change and try the same shit over and over again. Nylander showed that first year with Matthews he's more than capable of playing the right half wall on the pp and is much more of a shooting threat than mitch is at that location. Hope it keeps working for them and they continue to mix up the pp look.

Have you noticed how we barely lose the zone when we get set up now? Nylander is much more economical with his puck movement, you don't need to thread the needle on every pass when you have an all star lineup as a PP unit, just keep them in the zone until someone can capitalize on a defensive breakdown.

 

[Leafling]

30 in 29
On pace for 37 goals and 48 assists
He’s been on a tear and is really good

Honestly it's not even about the scoring for me. As others have pointed out, his game has become so much stronger now. When I saw him initially I only saw a nice play maker and goal scorer but he has really worked hard on getting a bit heavier n can easily run his own line now.

 

[Sundinisagod]

30 in 29
On pace for 37 goals and 48 assists
He’s been on a tear and is really good

This the sort of upside we hoped for when we drafted him.

I like his chances of staying in the ppg club for the foreseeable future.

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

Best looking contract in the league right now. What a gem. Hopefully another Leaf for life. Time will tell.

 

[socko]

I love Nylander but he's a hard negotiator. Based on his first contract, I would expect him to be a hard sign the second time around. And his agent saw with Marner, that he probably left some money on the table. He's not going to be an easy sign like Rielly signing for less than market value.