You couldn’t wipe the smile off Alex Nylander’s face on Saturday as he spoke to the media inside the Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room for the first time since signing a one-year NHL contract the day prior.
The one-way deal carries a cap hit of $775,000, and after skating on a line with Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin, who he played on a line with on the Marlies, it appears he’ll make his Maple Leafs debut on Sunday against the Utah Hockey Club.
Maple Leafs lines at practice:
McMann – Tavares – Marner
Robertson – Holmberg – W. Nylander
Grebenkin – Minten – A. Nylander
Steeves – Dewar – Lorentz
Reaves (suspended)Rielly – Ekman-Larsson
McCabe – Tanev
Benoit – Timmins
Myers – HakanpaaStolarz & Woll
— Nick Barden (@nickbarden) November 23, 2024
“All my family and all my friends know, so everybody’s going to be up watching the game tomorrow. So it’ll be a lot of fun,” Alex grinned
It’ll be the first time he and his brother, William, will play together professionally. They haven’t been on a team concurrently since the 2016 World Juniors, where the two represented Team Sweden.
Related: ‘I Was Looking At Taps For My Condo Because It’s Being Renovated’: How William Nylander Found Out The Maple Leafs Were Signing His Brother, Alex, To NHL Deal
Alex initially joined the Maple Leafs organization on an AHL deal on July 28 after scoring 11 goals in 23 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets through the back half of last season.
“I’m just continuing off what I did last year and building that down in the AHL, and obviously going to bring that up here. I know what I can do at the NHL level,” Alex said.
“I had a really strong finish there in Columbus last year and just kind of build off that, get better every day. It all starts with working hard every shift, and the rest kind of comes by itself when I do that.”
Related: Why The Maple Leafs Signed Alex Nylander To A One-Year NHL Deal
Nylander started the season off strong down in the AHL with the Marlies. The 26-year-old scored eight goals and four assists for 12 points in 14 games while playing in the top six and getting opportunities on the team’s power play.
The eighth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft wanted to earn his spot in the Maple Leafs lineup and did so with how he played in the AHL.
“I’ve been playing good down there. It’s been a lot of fun. We had a great team down there, and that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to earn that, and just really happy that this happened,” Alex said.
“Now I’ve got to do what I can do on the ice and try to help the team win as good as possible.”
Toronto’s dealing with several injuries at forward. They’re missing six players up front, including Auston Matthews (upper-body), Matthew Knies (upper-body), Max Pacioretty (lower-body), Calle Jarnkrok (sports hernia surgery), and Ryan Reaves, who’s serving a five-game suspension.
Related: ‘Wednesday Possibly, We’ll See How the Week Goes’: Auston Matthews Explains His Germany Visit and When He May Return To Maple Leafs Lineup
Several players have gotten an opportunity, but Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube expressed on Saturday that Alex’s chance came because of how strong he’s played in the AHL.
“He’s earned it, and, like I said, injuries happen and guys get an opportunity. I think he went to Columbus last year and did a pretty good job. He scored some goals there and stuff in the NHL,” Toronto’s head coach said.
“So, he has the NHL experience, which is good, and we’re all excited for him. I know his brother’s really excited. Williy was scoring a lot of goals today in practice.”
