Toronto Maple Leafs: William Nylander and Mitch Marner continue to shine at World Championships

Both Sweden and Canada will move on to the semifinals, as Toronto Maple Leafs forwards William Nylander and Mitch Marner continue to shine.

The Toronto Maple Leafs should be thrilled with the contributions by Mitch Marner and William Nylander at the IIHF World Championships in France. Coming off strong seasons in the NHL, it is encouraging to see them produce on the world stage especially as the games get tougher in the knockout round.

Sweden knocked off Switzerland in the quarterfinals 3-1 and they will move on to face Finland in the semifinals. Nylander had a strong game with a goal and an assist putting up another multi-point effort for Sweden.

Nylander is tied for third in tournament scoring with six goals and six assists for 12 points in eight games. Against the Swiss, he had one of his best goals of the year, taking a page from teammate Auston Matthews‘ book.

The 21-year old has seen an offensive surge since Nicklas Backstrom joined the team after the Washington Capitals were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Backstrom has four points in four games, which Nylander has benefited the most from.

Nylander has been a man on a mission in this tournament and the fact he is only behind Artemi Panarin and Nikita Kucherov for the tournament scoring lead is impressive. He will have a chance to eliminate the Russian squad and help Sweden secure a spot in the finals.

Where Nylander has impressed people the most with, is his ability to make a highlight reel play look effortless.

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While Nylander has been the highlight-reel machine in this tournament, his teammate Marner has not been far behind with Canada. His 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in eight games is one point off of Nathan MacKinnon for the team lead.

Marner’s best game came against Finland, where he took full advantage of the extra space on the larger ice surface. He also got the attention of head coach Jon Cooper, with his impressive hockey sense and skill.

After a 2-1 win over Germany, Canada will face Finland in order to determine who will play in the finals.

Marner’s second goal of the game was probably one of the easiest goals he has scored this year, because all he had to do was tap in a sweet pass from Mark Scheifele. He also showed his quick elusiveness and ability to hold onto the puck like a magnet, especially in close.

Despite not being featured on the top line, this has not stopped the 20-year old from stealing the spotlight. He had one of the nicest goals of the tournament, with a sweet toe drag effort that made the Finnish defenceman look silly and left the goalie in a tough spot.

https://twitter.com/VinSharma95/status/864599001970212864

It has been a pleasant sight to see both Marner and Nylander thrive in this tournament, especially since it helped Nikita Zaitsev, Matthews and Morgan Rielly last season. It is the type of experience that will help them the next time the Leafs make the playoffs.

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It will also put a big smile on head coach Mike Babcock’s face. What would be the icing on the cake is if Canada and Sweden make the final, giving Leafs fans a chance to see Marner and Nylander battle it out for gold.