TORONTO – William Nylander scored Sweden’s game-winner on Day 1 of the IIHF World Junior Championship, pumped his fist and smiled, and then he took a seat on the bench and chewed on his mouth guard while Toronto’s Air Canada Centre went bananas.
Nylander, 18, is the Calgary-born member of Sweden’s national team, and a Toronto Maple Leafs prospect, which makes him the most popular player in this city until Team Canada gets here next week after playing its round robin games in Montreal.
The No. 8-overall draft pick in 2014, Nylander is on a break from Modo in the Swedish Hockey League, where he’s on a point-per-game pace through 19 games, with eight goals and 11 assists. As Team Sweden’s assistant coach Tomas Monten puts it: “He’s ripping it up.”
Monten laughs when asked about the attention the Leafs prospect is getting in Toronto during this tournament. “I don’t know if he likes it, but I don’t think he dislikes it,” the coach says. “He’s a solid guy and he’s really down to earth. He’s got a smile on his face, and he just wants to play hockey.”
While most of the media attention has thus far has been focused on Team Canada and the rest of Group A in Montreal, the first gaggle of reporters in Toronto showed up to speak to Nylander after Sweden’s wins Friday and Sunday. I managed to steal a couple minutes to chat with Nylander about playing in Toronto, how his season’s going with Modo, and why he chose to represent Sweden instead of Canada.
Sportsnet Could you hear the support for you out there? The fans were extra loud when you scored.
William Nylander Yeah, of course. It was fun being out there and when you score you heard the crowd. It was an amazing feeling.
SN Did you hear what they were chanting after your goal?
WM No, I didn’t. What were they chanting?
SN Go Leafs Go.
WM Oh really? I didn’t hear that.
SN It was quite loud.
WM Yeah?
SN Yeah. Do you like all the attention that comes with being a Leafs prospect?
WM It’s something you’ve gotta learn to deal with if you’re gonna play here in the future. It’s good to get exposed to it now, early. It’s only going to get more and more.
SN That’s for sure. What’s it like playing in a city where people love you, but they don’t really know you yet?
WM [Laughs.] I don’t know. It’s hard to answer that question. You try to play the way you can and work hard off the ice.
SN How do you compare the atmosphere here to back home with Modo?
WM Back home we’ve got one side where the supporters stand, they’re hitting drums and stuff the entire game. All the teams have got a section where they cheer the entire game. Of course you hear the crowd here but you don’t really focus on that.
SN Your team looked a lot more comfortable out there in Game 1 compared to the exhibition games, would you say?
WM Part of it was coming over here, playing in Canada as a team, our first game in front of such a large fan base in Ottawa. For me, also playing over here, I played a couple games in Canada in front of a lot of fans and you get a little nervous. I can imagine there’s some guys that don’t play regularly in front of 4,000, 5,000 fans, coming here to play in front of bigger crowds, probably holding the sticks a little too tight and not being able to relax.
SN What have you been up to the past couple days?
WM We’ve been practicing and went shopping the other day, so it was good. I got some Christmas presents for the family. Christmas was good, we had a fun night with the boys.
SN How would you describe yourself?
WM I think I’m a pretty laid back guy, but I also strive to be better all the time.
SN You’re having quite the season in Sweden. How’s that helping your game?
WM It’s been great. I’m getting a lot of ice time, developing as a player, too. And I’m finding chemistry with players back home too so it’s fun. I’m learning a lot.
SN You were born in Calgary. When did you move?
WM [Age] two. I grew up in the States, too, I moved around. My dad was playing in New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington. I moved to Sweden when I was 14.
SN What was it like playing with your dad in your first games as a pro in Sweden?
WM That was amazing. We got to go through his daily routines and just learn more about being a professional. We played 16, 17 games so you learn a lot from him. He’s coaching right now.
SN How did you make the decision to play for Sweden instead of Canada?
WM I played in Sweden for two years. To play internationally, you have to play in your country for two years that you want to represent. I hadn’t played in Canada for two years, so I played in Sweden.
SN Do you think about playing Canada in the final?
WM Of course. But right now you’re just thinking about trying to get there and it doesn’t matter who the opponent is.
SN Will you watch the Leafs game Saturday night?
WM Oh yeah, obviously.