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Training camp questions #9: stud or dud? What do you expect from Alex Nylander?

dudacek

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dudacek

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NHL scouts ranked him the sixth best prospect outside the NHL last year and he shredded the World Junior Championships in points. But he also looked soft and overmatched in his first pro season in Rochester.

 

As he prepares to open the Prospects Challenge (at centre, between Baptiste and Bailey), what do you think we will get from Alex Nylander?

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LGR4GM Hall of Famer

LGR4GM

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NHL scouts ranked him the sixth best prospect outside the NHL last year and he shredded the World Junior Championships in points. But he also looked soft and overmatched in his first pro season in Rochester.

 

As he prepares to open the Prospects Challenge (at centre, between Baptiste and Bailey), what do you think we will get from Alex Nylander?

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dudacek Hall of Famer

dudacek

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He looks so intense in his interview, I worry he's going to be squeezing the stick too much today and beyond.

I hope he finds the groove, but I expect he's putting too much pressure on himself and is headed for a disappointing camp.

 

On the flip side of that, I expect him to be flying by the new year and to be called up with an eye on handing him Kane's spot after a deadline trade. I'm not a huge fan of his game (soft wingers just aren't really my thing) but his talent level is underrated around here.

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bob_sauve28 All Star

bob_sauve28

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He looks so intense in his interview, I worry he's going to be squeezing the stick too much today and beyond.

I hope he finds the groove, but I expect he's putting too much pressure on himself and is headed for a disappointing camp.

 

On the flip side of that, I expect him to be flying by the new year and to be called up with an eye on handing him Kane's spot after a deadline trade. I'm not a huge fan of his game (soft wingers just aren't really my thing) but his talent level is underrated around here.

So you order your wings extra crispy?  :angel:

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3putt First Liner

3putt

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He looks so intense in his interview, I worry he's going to be squeezing the stick too much today and beyond.

I hope he finds the groove, but I expect he's putting too much pressure on himself and is headed for a disappointing camp.

 

On the flip side of that, I expect him to be flying by the new year and to be called up with an eye on handing him Kane's spot after a deadline trade. I'm not a huge fan of his game (soft wingers just aren't really my thing) but his talent level is underrated around here.

I would take his performance in this tourney with a grain of salt.  At center, not his projected position, is a bit odd.  But it could be an opportunity to see his IQ in action as well as his defensive awareness. 

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dudacek Hall of Famer

dudacek

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If anyone expects him to play half the season or more in Buffalo -- I'd be curious if you could articulate your reasoning.

I don't but I can:

 

1. The kid has NHL talent: he may not have shown the ability to use it yet professionally, but his package of skating, vision, hands, shot and passing is top drawer.

2. He had last year to experience the higher pace and culture shock of the pro game and will be better prepared mentally

3. He's transformed his body from that of a high schooler to that of a college student; he's clearly better prepared physically

4. There is an opening at left wing for him right now, and that opening may get huge if Matt Moulson and Benoit Pouliot continue to regress and Evander Kane moves on.

5. There is all kinds of evidence of skilled-but-weak 18-year-olds not being ready, only to make the jump the following year. Mitch Marner, Nikolai Ehlers, Sam Bennett, Alex's brother William, our own Sam Reinhart just to name a few recently. The difference is those players went back to junior and dominated while Alex played pro and struggled. Given his dominance at the WJC last year however, he likely would have dominated juniors as much as they did. It's the poor pro numbers that have skewed people's perspective.

 

As I said, I don't expect him here until he has proven himself at the AHL level, but there certainly is a reasonable case to be made that he could be.

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Very good points. I think point 5 is what you hope to hang your hat on. That kid would of put up video game numbers in junior similar to Marner and Reinhart if he went back. I'm not sure how well Sam would have looked playing in the A when he was sent back.

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LikeEich Prospect

LikeEich

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I don't but I can:

 

1. The kid has NHL talent: he may not have shown the ability to use it yet professionally, but his package of skating, vision, hands, shot and passing is top drawer.

2. He had last year to experience the higher pace and culture shock of the pro game and will be better prepared mentally

3. He's transformed his body from that of a high schooler to that of a college student; he's clearly better prepared physically

4. There is an opening at left wing for him right now, and that opening may get huge if Matt Moulson and Benoit Pouliot continue to regress and Evander Kane moves on.

5. There is all kinds of evidence of skilled-but-weak 18-year-olds not being ready, only to make the jump the following year. Mitch Marner, Nikolai Ehlers, Sam Bennett, Alex's brother William, our own Sam Reinhart just to name a few recently. The difference is those players went back to junior and dominated while Alex played pro and struggled. Given his dominance at the WJC last year however, he likely would have dominated juniors as much as they did. It's the poor pro numbers that have skewed people's perspective.

 

As I said, I don't expect him here until he has proven himself at the AHL level, but there certainly is a reasonable case to be made that he could be.

Agree with all of this it's not out of the realm of possibility, although it is unlikely.

 

That being said if he has a good pre season, I could see him getting a couple games to start the season. If he was tearing it up he could play 82 in the NHL. He would have to be incredible though,more likely being counted on as part of the culture change in the A

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Thorny Hall of Famer

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Very good points. I think point 5 is what you hope to hang your hat on. That kid would of put up video game numbers in junior similar to Marner and Reinhart if he went back. I'm not sure how well Sam would have looked playing in the A when he was sent back.

It's hard to say, and it's such a small sample size, but I think Sam had 3 points in 3 games for Rochester at the end of his first post-draft junior season. 2015-16 Sam was probably almost here by the end of the 2014-15 season.

 

Nylander I think is a little behind that pace as I don't think he took large strides in the AHL towards the end last year, as far as I know.

 

I think it'll click this year for him in the AHL. On the main roster after the deadline is possible, perhaps depending on Kane.

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TrueBlueGED Hall of Famer

TrueBlueGED

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If anyone expects him to play half the season or more in Buffalo -- I'd be curious if you could articulate your reasoning.

 

Mostly what Dudacek said. I think he's a mid-season call-up, gets time with skill, and doesn't go back down. 

 

That said, even if he develops and plays like I think, his style is such that plenty of fans will still hate him. Soft, skilled wingers aren't exactly a Buffalo favorite.

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