For many, the NHL preseason is about shaking off rust and not getting injured. It’s easy to forget that these “irrelevant” games are sometimes life-altering moments for younger players in particular.
As the eighth pick of the 2014 NHL Draft, big things are expected from Toronto Maple Leafs prospect William Nylander. He’s already played with adult professional hockey players in Sweden, yet Tuesday’s preseason game left him undeniably nervous, as TSN’s Jonas Siegel reports.
Henrik Tallinder says William Nylander was nervous before the game. "He said before the period 'what have I gotten myself into?'"
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) September 24, 2014
Nylander: "The pregame warmup I was just looking around and I was like ‘this is crazy’ and then the nerves started kicking in even more."
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) September 24, 2014
One could argue that he showed his first evidence of converting that nervous energy into positive results, as the 18-year-old managed to score in Toronto’s 4-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers:
Head coach Randy Carlyle seems like he graded Nylander an “Incomplete” for the night, though.
Randy Carlyle says he'll reserve judgment on Nylander until tomorrow night when nerves have subsided.
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) September 24, 2014