Buffalo Sabres: What has happened to Alexander Nylander?
By Paul Taylor
After suffering an injury in mid-September, Buffalo Sabres winger Alexander Nylander has been out much longer than expected. When will he actually return to action?
When the Buffalo Sabres drafted Alexander Nylander in 2016, the general consensus seemed to be they had done extremely well. Selected eighth overall, many hockey analysts believed he should have actually gone higher.
As such — fair or not — the perception was Nylander significantly disappointed, during his first season with the organisation. He tallied just 28 points in 65 games for the Rochester Amerks during the 2016-17 campaign and — for what it’s worth — had the worst plus/minus rating on the team.
As a result, the 19-year-old only managed four games at the NHL level, right at the end of the season. In those four games he registered just one assist, while only fleetingly offering glimpses of his undoubted potential.
With all this in mind, Nylander vowed to do everything possible during the offseason, to have more of a positive impact moving forward. This included filling out his frame, to better deal with the physically demanding nature of hockey.
Unfortunately for the winger, he suffered an injury before he could even begin to prove himself. The injury happened in mid-September, during the Buffalo Sabres’ first prospect game.
As always these days in the NHL, the description of the incident was ambiguous, being listed as a lower-body injury. However, speculation indicated it was either a groin or hamstring issue.
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Regardless, this was a significant setback for Nylander. The youngster understandably hoped to prove himself during training camp and make the opening night roster.
Instead, the Calgary, Alberta native was listed as week-to-week with his injury, and ended up missing the entire preseason. Now the regular season has begun and he has yet to suit up for the Amerks.
This leads to the question of when Nylander will actually return to action? Even the Buffalo Sabres admit his recovery has taken longer than expected.
General manger Jason Botterill provided an update on Tuesday. Speaking to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News, he said:
"“We want him to feel comfortable, so this is not an injury that nags him the entire season. Hopefully we get him back on the ice next week and we start progressing from there.”"
Botterill did add the Buffalo Sabres want to make sure the Swedish international isn’t rushed back, even after all this time. Their priority is to make sure he is in hockey shape, so he doesn’t suffer a setback after just one game.
Regardless, Botterill finished by putting a positive spin on the situation. Again speaking to Harrington, he said:
"“Fortunately, the situation in the American Hockey League is they don’t have a lot of games right now. So if Alex sits out a little longer, there’s a lot of season left and he’s not missing all that much time.”"
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Whenever Nylander does actually return, what kind of season are you predicting for him? Will he have a positive impact for the Buffalo Sabres organisation, significantly at the NHL level? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.