As Alex Nylander prepares for his first season in the Maple Leafs organization, he can only wonder what’s ahead of him once training camp begins in September.
The 26-year-old signed a one-year AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies on July 28, nearly a month after NHL free agency opened up. It was an opportunity for Alex — the younger brother of William Nylander — to come to Toronto and try to earn an NHL deal out of camp.
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Nearly a week after signing with the Marlies, Nylander spoke with TSN’s Mark Masters and Postmedia’s Lance Hornby about joining Toronto and what he hopes to do after a stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets where he scored 11 goals and four assists in 23 games.
My chat with Alex Nylander on hoping to turn his AHL contract with the Marlies into a shot with playing alongside William on the Leafs: https://t.co/wug8tZHsXz
— Lance Hornby 🇺🇦 (@sunhornby) August 6, 2024
“I can’t wait for that chance to come,” Alex told Hornby. “But I know I have to prove myself first. It’s been a long wait to get back on the ice (his last team, Columbus, missed the playoffs). I hope to come to Toronto in early September (to join the summer skates prior to the main training camp).”
The Nylander brothers were picked eighth overall in the NHL Draft — Alex in 2016, and William in 2014. However, they haven’t played together on a team since 2016 when the pair represented Sweden at the World Junior Championship.
Although Alex will begin training camp under an AHL deal, they’ll be in an NHL organization, together, for the first time in their careers.
“We’re kind of similar players,” Alex told Masters. “We both can shoot and like to pass at the same time. We both like to hold onto the pucks and make plays from there. I kind of know what he’s going to try to do. He’s so good, so he can just find you whenever. Our chemistry is good.”
Alex Nylander on training daily with William:
“He’s determined every year to get better & wants to prove that he wants to be one of the best .. He’s just so determined to get that Stanley Cup. It’s awesome to see, actually, how much work he puts in”https://t.co/hJDrKYY3Ir
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) August 6, 2024
Alex also joked with Masters that the two have already been on a team together for the last couple of offseasons, during training.
“We’ve been playing together the past few summers,” he said. “They had to put us together so we wouldn’t go at it, because we would get so mad at each other. We had to change it up and be on the same team.”
This is unlike any opportunity Alex has had in his NHL career. His eyes are set on the path ahead: to make the Maple Leafs out of camp, and to play with William when it matters most.
“He was obviously really happy,” Alex told Masters about William’s reaction when he signed with AHL Toronto.
“We’re really looking forward to this. It’s going to be awesome. I’ve obviously watched the Leafs the most out of all the teams, so I know [them] really well. We’ll live together and all that stuff. It can’t get any better.”
Related: ‘He Can Certainly Do Some Things Not Everyone Can’: What the Maple Leafs Organization is Getting in New Marlies Forward Alex Nylander
Alex added that William wasn’t involved much in convincing his brother to join the Maple Leafs organization, even though the two are with each other a fair bit.
“He was giving me the space to decide,” Alex said. “It’s a huge decision in my career. My goal is to play in the NHL, so we had to make the decision about what we think is best and not just because he’s playing there. In the end, with the teams we had [interested], this was the best decision for me.”
According to Hornby, the younger Nylander will wear number 92 with the Marlies, the same number he wore with Columbus and the Chicago Blackhawks, where he had a career-high with 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) in 65 games during the 2019-20 season.
It’s another opportunity for Alex — who’s dealt with a knee injury, which required surgery, and a shortened season due to COVID-19 — to prove he can be the player who was drafted eighth overall in 2016.
And the forward is looking forward to doing so alongside his brother in Toronto.
“It’s a huge hockey city and the fans are awesome,” Alex said. “There’s obviously a little more pressure playing there with the Leafs with it being such a big market, but [William] says it’s awesome. He loves it … I always love going to Toronto every time I visit. We really like Toronto, both of us.”
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