Penguins forward prospect Alex Nylander happy with a fresh start
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There haven’t been many players better than Alex Nylander to play on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Five, to be precise.
To be clear, the unit of measurement in this instance is draft status.
Nylander was the eighth overall selection in the 2016 draft.
The only players drafted higher who have suited up for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton are:
• Kris Beech, 1999 (No. 7 overall)
• Alexandre Daigle, 1993 (No. 1 overall)
• Rico Fata, 1998 (No. 6 overall)
• Marc-Andre Fleury, 2003 (No. 1 overall)
• Ryan Whitney, 2002 (No. 5 overall)
“Loads of talent,” Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach J.D. Forrest said via video conference. “Offensively gifted. Just kind of needs to round out his game. Now having him in person, he can certainly do some things not everyone can do.”
Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres, Nylander wound up with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last month after the Pittsburgh Penguins traded for him by sending reserve forward Sam Lafferty to the Chicago Blackhawks.
General manager Ron Hextall was said to be high on Nylander and, thus far, Nylander appears to have justified that interest. In 16 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the 23-year-old Nylander has 13 points (seven goals, six assists).
Much of that success has come on the left wing of a line with Sam Poulin, a fellow first-round pick (No. 21 in 2019), at center and Anthony Angello, who has NHL experience, on the right wing.
“Since the day I came here, they’ve just welcomed me,” Nylander said. “The guys (teammates) were great. They made it really easy for me to come in. And the coaches as well. They just let me play my game and do my thing. It’s just been getting better and better. The past couple of games I have played, our line has been really good. We’ve had a lot of chances. We could have had a couple of more goals go in.
“If we keep doing that and I keep getting to my game, it’s going to start contributing to becoming the player that I know I can be and taking my game to the next level.”
Nylander has gotten to that level, the NHL, repeatedly. He just hasn’t had much luck staying at that level.
With the malfunctioning Sabres, he managed to play in only 19 games over three seasons.
During the 2019 offseason, he was dealt to the Blackhawks and finally appeared to establish himself as a full-time NHLer, albeit with limited results. During the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 campaign, he appeared in 65 of a possible 70 games and generated 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists).
After the “bubble” playoffs in Edmonton during the summer of 2020, Nylander underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and missed the entire 2020-21 season that was also shortened because of the pandemic.
“Obviously, it was tough because I was actually coming into a bigger role on that team in Chicago,” Nylander said. “It was annoying knowing that my surgery was something like two weeks before training camp. After surgery, I knew that I was going to be out for six months. That was tough, obviously, to hear that and to know that I was going to miss a big season for me, especially when I was trying to get my game and stuff going to where I know I can be. It was tough to sit out. I wanted just wanted to be out there and help my teammates. It’s tough to miss a season.”
Nylander opened the 2021-22 season with the Rockford IceHogs, the Blackhawks’ American Hockey League affiliate. After 23 games and 12 points (eight goals, four assists), he wound up with the Penguins organization.
“It was obviously not the easiest to play my first couple of games (this season) with a knee injury because I never had (one) before,” Nylander said. “It took a little while to get used to things when I got back on the ice. My knee feels really good and everything is great. I’m really happy that I’m here now. Things happen for a reason. I’m feeling really good in the knee and the body. This is great for me. I learned a lot of things also when I was out. I looked at a lot of games, I learned some new things mentally and stuff like that to be strong and all that stuff.”
While the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are trying to smooth out the edges to his game, they’ve granted him liberty to use his high-end talent.
“We give him some leeway to try some things with the puck,” Forrest said. “There’s kind of an understanding that if it doesn’t go his way, make sure you track back hard, you kind of make up for it, you recover. He’s done that, even when it’s not his mistake. The effort is certainly there. I don’t think that’s an issue. It’s just making sure it’s there all the time. He’s certainly willing.”
Nylander appears willing to do whatever is required to get his career back on a trajectory that leads to being a steady NHLer like his brother, William, a star forward with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Their father, Michael, carved out a 15-year career throughout the 1990s and 2000s with the Hartford Whalers, Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning, Blackhawks, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers.
Alex got his first taste of the NHL through his father.
“I remember Washington was awesome. (Capitals forward Nicklas) Backstrom was living with us. And when (Michael) was playing with (Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin), that was awesome. Got a stick from (Ovechkin). My dad would bring us to the practices and sometimes go on the ice before practices. I remember the New York Rangers as well. In their green room and stuff, me and my brother were just younger and playing knee hockey and stuff.”
A pending restricted free agent, Nylander would like to join his brother at the NHL level on a steady basis.
He thinks he might have found an avenue to that goal through the Penguins.
“I got a fresh start,” Nylander said. “The coaches just let me play. J.D.’s been very good. He’s just lets me play. I’ve been trying to get my game better and better each game. The style of play here is fast. We want to go north. We want to work hard every single shift, and it’s been feeding off on each line. It’s been getting better for me, getting my legs going and becoming a dangerous player out there. It’s just been really positive for me here, and they’ve been great to me here every single day.
“I’m really happy with how things are going.”