One thing is certain, the Maple Leafs scored huge when they were able to draft William Nylander at eighth overall. Only a couple players in the 2014 Draft seem to be ahead of Willy in terms of production and where they are at in their careers. Here is a quick look at the top 10 selections: Aaron Ekblad Sam Reinhart Leon Draisaitl Sam Bennett Michael Dal Colle Jake Virtanen Haydn Fleury William Nylander Nikolaj Ehlers Nick Ritchie
If you ask me, the three best players on this list are Draisaitl, Nylander and Ehlers.
Ekblad is certainly a stud but he’s also missed a lot of hockey and his game has taken a bit of a hit overall in terms of forward movement. Ekblad has had a few concussion problems and the Florida Panthers have to be careful with how they treat their number one overall pick from 2014. Ekblad had a very solid 39 point rookie season, followed up with a 36 point sophomore season and then struggled a lot more last season scoring 21 points in 68 games with an ugly -23 plus/minus.
Personally, I think the three forwards have taken leaps and bounds forward.
Leon Draisaitl: The German Gretzky they called him during his draft year. At first Leon was tossed into a ring of fire with a horrendous Edmonton Oilers team, scoring 2 goals and chipping in 7 assists in his first 37 NHL games Draisaitl struggled a bit more than most experts predicted. He then began to find his groove in year two with 51 points in 72 games, making the most of his ice time and opportunities. Boom, a monstrous season in 2016-17 finding chemistry with Connor McDavid he was able to put up a whopping 77 points in 82 games and is now ready to cash in on a new contract.
William Nylander: Born in Canada, raised in the USA/ Sweden, Nylander was born into a hockey family where his old man played for the Calgary Flames. The Leafs were wise to let Willy play in the AHL for a season and a half before they brought him up to the big leagues, this gave him lots of confidence and let him to do some strengthening. His first taste of the NHL, Nylander tossed up 13 points in 22 games on a weak Leafs team (30th overall). Last season he missed just one single game and put up a solid 61 points playing alongside Leafs golden goose Auston Matthews. Nylander and Matthews are incredible together and you can only expect them to blossom together for years to come. Nylander also chipped in 4 points in 6 playoff games for the Leafs and seems to be getting better and better as time goes on.
Nylander had quite the season overall, he was rookie of the month in October scoring 11 points in 9 games (second in the league in scoring at the time and first among rookies). He also scored his first NHL hat trick against the Boston Bruins in February (which we Leafs fans just loved). In the 2017 IIHF World Championships William won the gold medal and also led his team with 14 points in 10 games and was named the MVP of the tournament. Willy also set a Maple Leafs rookie record scoring in 10 games straight, a record that hadn’t been touched since 1943-44 (9 games). The point came off an assist on a goal by Josh Leivo (which was Nylander’s 35th of the season). He then scored an absolutely filthy snipe later in the game which gave him 12 points in the 10 games.
Nikolaj Ehlers: The Denmark born stud was an absolute force in the QMJHL putting up 104 points and 101 points in his two years in Halifax. His playoff stats were just as impressive and I was very surprised to see him fall so low in the draft. Ehlers played 72 games in his first season with the Winnipeg Jets and racked up 38 points in 72 games. Last season he really excelled, scoring 64 points in 82 games playing with a combination of Scheifele, Laine, Wheeler and Little.
What are your thoughts on the Leafs scooping up William Nylander so late in the 2014 Draft, a thing of beauty or what?
Thanks for reading, have a great week!