by Christopher Nardella, Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine

MONTREAL, QC. — With the stockpiling of mediocre offensive talent on a Canadiens roster that has seldom stayed the same over the past quartet of seasons, the 2016 draft poses a threat to the Canadiens ability to ice pedestrian offensive talent. Dual citizen Alexander Nylander spearheads a draft class ripe with offensive proficiency outside of the top-three projected selections in the draft to take place at the end of the week.

Alexander Nylander, LW/RW, Mississauga (OHL)
March 2, 1998 | Calgary, Alberta, Canada
6-0, 176 lbs. | Shoots R | @snipeshow98
2015-’16: 57 GP, 28 G, 47 A, 75 PTS (Mississauga Steelheads)

CSB: No. 3 (NA Skaters) | ISS: No. 6 | THN: No. 7 | HP: No. 12 | FC: No. 8

Following failing to convince Toronto Maple Leafs farmhand William Nylander to head to the confines of the Hershey Center, the Mississauga Steelheads selected Alex with the 12th overall pick in the 2015 import draft. The youngest Nylander brother was only a member of the Steelheads temporarily, on loan from Rögle BK of the SHL, and is committed overseas next season should he not make an NHL roster. In his one and only season in the OHL, Nylander scored 28 goals and recorded 75 points in 57 games a rookie, leading his team in points. He took home OHL and CHL rookie of the year honours leading all rookies in goals and points. With his aforementioned brother out with a concussion, Nylander couldn’t lead Sweden to a medal at the World Junior Championship, an almost impossible task as a then-17-year old.

Alex Nylander posses elite level skating ability that could be comparable to anyone else in this draft class. Not only is he tremendously fast in short spurts, he quickly reaches his top gear and can hold that level for the entire sequence. He does however like to slow the play down and doesn’t necessarily rely on his speed to generate offence on every possession. His ability to reach the same amount of speed from a stationary position is second to none in this draft.

The Calgary, Alberta native is also phenomenal on his edges. His edge-work is on par with that of Clayton Keller who is widely regarded as the best in that category. Nylander pivots very quickly in corners during one-on-ones and eludes his coverer who isn’t sure of where Nylander is heading which keeps him on his toes and opens up clear passing lanes which he is ingenious at finding. Despite not being overly physically gifted in terms of his physicality Nylander is nevertheless outstanding at creating offence in cramped areas just due to his elusiveness.

Most scouts agree that Alex Nylander’s hands are the best in this draft. Slick, with the ability to stick handle through a player four times around if he may so choose. The most flashy portion of his game, his stick handling ability is at a world class level, with the ability to weave through traffic and come out with the puck, still being aware of e positioning of his linemates. His quick wrists allow him to perform touch passes and find his teammates even while in condensed areas of the ice. The Swede could out stick handle most in this class even while in a significantly tighter area than those being compared to him in this theoretical competition.

.@tsnjamesduthie found a new TSN Quiz panel: @A_Matthews34 @PatrikLaine29 @TKACHUKycheese_ @18Dubois @snipeshow98 pic.twitter.com/dxxNkXXTAm

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 6, 2016

Generally with playmakers projected to be selected in the top-10 of the draft vision is an outstanding ability of theirs, and that doesn’t waver with Alex Nylander. The 18-year old sees passing lanes few others on the ice do. Either when on the rush or while penetrating the offensive and neutral zones if there aren’t any options or he doesn’t feel as though there are enough quality options he will cut towards another area of the ice to find openings. His slick hands and edge-work allow him to shed opponents who might be inhibiting his ability to reach his objective area of the ice or passing lane.

To complement his abilities and elusiveness, the 6-foot winger also has an unassailable, NHL-caliber shot. It’s as heavy as it is accurate from all areas of the ice and since his playmaking is so pervasively known to be incredible, shooting lanes open up for Nylander to exploit, which he does consistently. He doesn’t have the quickest release however the quality of his shot makes up for that slight deficiency. When putting into account his stick handling, Nylander truly has an amalgam of offensive dynamism.

As is generally the case with players of his ilk and age, the second son of former NHL’er Michael Nylander isn’t overly involved defensively. His awareness isn’t at the level of others with similar abilities in the first round, with the highest amount of effort coming while the breakout is being set up and he is approaching an exodus from the defensive zone. He gets caught puck watching which leaves his defenceman to slip in behind him and become another option. The elite level of talent Nylander has far outweighs whatever insufficiency he has in his own end, however that will significantly limit his ability to see upwards of nine games in the NHL in the immediate future.

Steelheads fans were treated to a show on the powerplay with Nylander and fellow project first round pick Michael McLeod on the same unit. Nylander almost always was deployed on the point, primarily on the left side so he could drift down to the hash marks and below to find passing lanes and fire one-timers. However he isn’t limited to that region of the ice, he often finds his way to the right point where he becomes a facilitator and prefers his wrist shot from the strong side. Nylander, who primarily plays on the left wing but can play on his forehand side, slips in behind the defence undetected when on the right side, and makes himself open for a cross-seam pass.

A player of this caliber sporadically drops in the draft, the Canadiens will either need to move up or get a large stroke of luck to select Nylander. With the organizational desert that is the Calgary Flames’ wings I can’t see him being available past the sixth overall selection, baring a cataclysmic shift and one of the top five dropping. Nylander is a supremely talented winger with a bright future as an elite offensive talent in the NHL.

Need to catch up on potential draftees? You will find the All Habs draft archive here or use the quick links below to check out our most recent articles on the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

2016 NHL Entry Draft on All Habs Hockey Magazine
In case you missed them! Here are the most recent articles on the draft.
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