Henrik Lundqvist feels old today. And if you were born in the 1980s or earlier, you’re about to feel old, too.
Ahead of Friday night’s New York Rangers–Toronto Maple Leafs tilt in Madison Square Garden, the Rangers goalie was asked about 20-year-old Leaf William Nylander. For the first two years Lundqvist’s NHL career, he was a teammate of Michael Nylander’s in New York, and that’s the first time he met ‘little’ William and Alexander.
“I remember I spent a lot of time with Michael 11-12 years ago and little Nylander he was out on the street playing with his brother and I joined them a couple of times,” Lundqvist recalled. “He was not very big, but you could tell the guys had talent. You could really see it, the way they were moving the puck.”
With eight goals and 26 points in 38 games this season, William Nylander is showing his talent at the NHL level in his rookie year. So far, he’s fifth in league scoring among freshmen, behind Patrik Laine, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Matthew Tkachuk. Nylander also played 22 NHL games last season, scoring six goals and 13 points. He would have been 10 years old when Lundqvist was in his first NHL season.
Meanwhile William’s little brother Alexander, the eighth overall pick by Buffalo in the 2016 NHL draft, has 17 points in 31 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans and is coming off a world junior performance where he scored 12 points in seven games to tie for the tournament lead.
“I’m happy for (William) and how he’s been able to follow his dad’s footsteps here,” Lundqvist said. “It makes you realize you’ve been getting older and that you’ve been here for a while.”
Lundqvist, 34, has an 18-9-1 record this season with a .912 SP and 2.55 GAA.
