Mississauga Steelheads Alex Nylander will go to Buffalo's AHL affiliate in Rochester, NY on a loan type deal. According to a report by OHLInsiders.com, this is similar arrangement to what the Dallas Stars arranged for one of their top prospects Julius Honka.
Buffalo selected Nylander with the 8th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo.
The 6 foot, 178-pound Nylander is 18, two years younger than his brother, Maple Leafs prospect William Nylander, who split time this year in Toronto between the NHL and the AHL Marlies. Their father is former NHLer Michael Nylander, a Mississauga assistant coach who played 920 NHL games with seven teams from 1992-2009. Michal was a prolific playmaker and scorer, especially during his playing days in Washington.
In many ways, Alex Nylander reminds me of current Caps offensive dynamo Nik Backstrom. He was the OHL Rookie Of The Year 2015-16.
Alex is in a unique position because he is now eligible to play in the NHL, AHL, OHL or back in the Swedish Elite League next season.
Nylander is a man with many options. Sabres GM Tim Murray wasn't kidding when he said at Sabres development camp in July that Nylander now has a legit shot to play in Buffalo. If not for teh full season, then a nine game NHL tryout.
The kid has been blessed with some of the sickest skills to grace the Sabres organization has seen in decades. He may very well be the most skilled player in the Sabres organization at present.
He's become a shootout machine.
A left winger with sleek technical skills and grotesque overall offensive awareness, Nykander just might bypass Rochester and play LW for Jack Eichel and Samson Reinhart in Buffalo with a strong showing at his first NHL training camp.
Nylander likely loves the fact that Jimmy Vesey signed with the NY Rangers as a UFA. Now Snipe Show can show Tim Murray and Dan Byksma what he's made of and have a legit shot at making Buffalo's opening night roster.