Buffalo Sabres: Why Did They Draft Alexander Nylander?
By Paul Taylor
The Buffalo Sabres surprised quite a few people at the NHL draft by selecting Alexander Nylander in the first round, but what made Tim Murray decide to pick the winger?
Things appeared to have lined up perfectly for the Buffalo Sabres, when it came time to select a player with the eighth pick in the draft. With their pressing need for a left-shot defenseman, the only one who had come off the board was Olli Juolevi.
With Jakob Chychrun and Mikhail Sergachev still available, the Sabres were set to get the franchise blue-liner they were (apparently) looking for. However, as we should have known by now, always expect the unexpected with Tim Murray, which he proved by going for Alexander Nylander.
No one is denying the talents of Nylander, with phrases such as “a ridiculous set of hands” and “jaw dropping passes” commonly used to describe him. Regardless, what made the Sabres general manager decide to select William Nylander‘s younger brother?
More from Buffalo Sabres
- Buffalo Sabres and Victor Olofsson making progress on contract extension
- Buffalo Sabres still need goaltender help despite re-signing Anderson
- Buffalo Sabres: Time to close book on the Jack Eichel chapter
- Buffalo Sabres receiving interest in members of defensive core
- Buffalo Sabres focused on youth during another disastrous season
Speaking to WGR550’s Paul Hamilton and the rest of the media, Murray said: “We were just going to go off our list.
“I’m not worried about position at all, best player available or best fit and the fit could be defense or it could be just like the player we took today, so I’m not too worried about fit.”
With Murray saying the Sabres were going off their list, that means they had Nylander ahead of Sergachev and Chychrun. This is interesting, given their repeated comments about needing to improve the quality of left-shot defensemen on the roster.
Speaking further about why Buffalo went for the 18-year old, Murray said: “Skill, skating, I mean he’s the whole package.
“I think after the Pittsburgh win you hear people talking about speed and that’s what we’ve been trying to do the past couple of years and we don’t have enough of it yet. We’ve made great strides and to get a guy like him that we think is a top six forward, just fit into our blueprint.”
From Nylander’s point of view, he couldn’t be happier about being picked by the Sabres. Speaking to Jourdon LaBarber of sabres.com and the rest of the media, he said: “It was an unbelievable moment, the best moment of my life.”
“(It’s) a big dream come true. That was the first time to hear that and it was unbelievable to hear the fans cheer.”
The Canadian-born Swedish international is also excited about getting the opportunity to line up with Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart: “It’s perfect.
“A lot of young players, it’s a really good team trying to build up now and they’re going to be really good for next year … It’s just going to be amazing playing with them.”
Nylander is an excellent skater – he was ranked as the number three North American skater leading up to the draft – who is also equipped with a deadly shot. While he knows exactly what he’s doing, his unpredictable play makes him extremely difficult to defend against.
It was this talent which led to the winger being named both OHL and CHL rookie of the year this past season. Now, Sabres fans wait to see if he can live up to his huge upside and top line potential.
Next: Is Steven Stamkos worth risking so much money?
What are your thoughts about the Sabres picking Alexander Nylander? Are you happy with the selection, or do you wish they had gone for someone else? Let us know in the comments section below.