ALEXANDER NYLANDER

LEFT WINGER

6’0.5’’ & 178 LBS

RIGHT HANDED

MISSISSAUGA STEELHEADS, OHL

57 GP, 28 GOALS AND 47 ASSISTS

FINAL RANKING ON NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING – 3 (NORTH AMERICAN SKATERS)

PLAYER COMPARISON: ALEX SEMIN

PLAYER PROFILE

Nylander has NHL star written all over him. He owns a shot that would make the majority of players in the world jealous His skating is very good and his offensive instincts are top notch. The youngest Nylander brother was definitely the Steelheads’ offensive catalyst; everything ran through him, especially on the powerplay. Unlike his brother William, Alex moves the puck quickly. He doesn’t over handle it and he is great at finding the right man to pass to.

The Nylanders definitely have the potential to replace the Sedin’s as the NHL’s top brothers. It will be interesting to see what the team that drafts Alex decides to do with him for next season. He could either go back to the OHL for his last season or he could turn pro and be eligible to play in both the AHL and NHL next year. I believe that, like his brother, a year in the AHL would be extremely beneficial for the youngster. After an impressive rookie season where he finished 16th in PPG (1.32) despite being a 17-year- old playing in North America, I don’t think Nylander has much to prove in the CHL anymore. I believe he is probably a year or two away from the NHL.

PROS

DID EXTREMELY WELL IN HIS FIRST YEAR IN NORTH AMERICA

I cannot overstate just how impressive Nylander was this year, given his situation. He could have easily stayed in Sweden like his brother did, but he decided to cross the pond and play in a different league and get out of his comfort zone.

Another aspect of his game that shouldn’t be overlooked is that Mississauga is one of the least veteran-centric teams in the OHL. None of their older players are anything special. The Steelheads’ success this year was entirely the result of their 2016 draft eligible players (Nylander, McLeod, Bastian & Day). So for a young player like him to come in, take the lead offensively, and dominate like that, it’s a perfect testament to how special of a talent he truly is.

HIGHEST UPSIDE

In the ninth overall range, Nylander is easily the forward with the highest potential after Matthews, the two Finns, Dubois and Tkachuk. Jost, Keller and Brown are all solid prospects in their own right, but Nylander, in my opinion, is just a tier above those guys. He doesn’t have any glaring flaws in his game (shooting and skating are already at the NHL level) and if he can reach his full potential, he would be a huge addition to this team’s long term core.

OUTSTANDING YEAR FROM START TO FINISH

Nylander probably had the best year you could imagine for a draft eligible prospect. He was lights out at the World Juniors for Sweden and was their leading scorer (9 points in 7 GP) despite being the youngest player on the team. He was a monster in the opening round of the playoffs for the Steelheads (12 points in 6 GP) and if he had not missed the opening game of the series due to a shoulder injury, Mississauga most likely gets past Barrie in the first round.

GAME WILL TRANSLATE WELL AT THE NHL LEVEL

The son of longtime NHLer Michael Nylander has a very projectable game at the next level. He doesn’t try to dangle his way through the entire team, he doesn’t produce because he’s more physically mature than his peers; he simply relies on his offensive instincts and his hands.

He has a knack for finding a teammate left wide open, or positioning himself to get a great scoring chance. He also possesses a great arsenal of ways to score: he can one-time it, he can deke you out of your jocks, or he can simply wait for the defenseman or the goalie to compromise themself and score a beautiful snipe.

AHL ELIGIBLE NEXT YEAR

His eligibility to play in the AHL next year definitely gives him an edge over some prospects. Due to the fact that he’s currently being loaned by an SHL team to the Steelheads, he can use that as a loophole to play in the AHL despite being a 19-year- old playing in the CHL (similarly to what Julius Honka did with the Stars). As I’ve previously pointed out, I think this is only a good thing for Nylander since I believe he has nothing left to prove at the OHL level. Playing in the American Hockey League next year puts him an inch closer to his dream of playing in the NHL and becoming a more complete player.

CONS

PLAYS ON THE PERIMETER

Some scouts feel that Nylander plays  on the perimeter too much for their liking and that his unwillingness to get his nose dirty will only hurt him at the next level.

I find the issue is a tad overblown. I don’t think he dodges contact like the plague the way some of his detractors are making it sound. Sure, he won’t instigate physical contact and finish his checks every chance he gets, but that’s simply not part of his game. Cammalleri and Kessel are two players who are guilty of playing on the perimeter, and both have carved out a solid NHL career in their own right.

NEEDS TO GET STRONGER

At 178 lbs, Nylander could benefit from gaining 12 to 15 more pounds of muscle on his frame. NHL.com lists his brother at 190 lbs and he’s one inch shorter than Alex. That extra muscle will add some explosiveness to his skating, help his balance, and will help him hold his own in battles against NHLers.

NEEDS TO WORK ON HIS DEFENSIVE GAME

This one is not as crucial as the others, since he’s expected to be a winger at the NHL level and his defensive game is by no means atrocious. Nylander will learn how to properly defend as a winger since he’s still relatively inexperienced at that position (he used to play center back in Sweden). With the proper coaching, Nylander’s defensive game will become passable for the NHL.

NEEDS TO GET HIS SHOT OFF QUICKER

This is the one weakness that could hurt his potential at the NHL level. He’ll have to get his shot off much quicker in the NHL, as he won’t have that extra second to shoot;his man will simply take away the space or block the shooting lane. If he doesn’t fix that flaw in his game he’ll have trouble producing in the NHL. This is one of the aspects that separates the excellent players from good ones. There have been countless examples of players who were stars at the junior level (Pavel Brendl, Nail Yakupov, Emerson Etem, etc) but couldn’t get it done at the NHL level because they couldn’t fully exploit their shot.

VERDICT

If Nylander falls to our spot, I’ll be overjoyed. He should absolutely be our target if he happens to be available at ninth overall. He has all the makings to be a star forward in the NHL and a Galchenyuk-Nylander duo sounds like music to my ears. Plus, it would be fun to see a rivalry between two brothers playing on rival teams.