Toronto Maple Leafs: William Nylander off to good start at world championships

William Nylander didn’t have the best season with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018-19, but he’s gotten off on the right foot with Sweden at the IIHF World Championships

Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander has started his summer off on the right foot.

The winger elected to play for Sweden in the 2019 IIHF World Championships rather than taking time off following the Leafs’ first-round exit.

He joined fellow Leafs John Tavares, Martin Marincin, and Nikita Zaitsev in Slovakia, where each was competing for their respective countries – although Tavares was forced to miss the tournament after suffering an injury during training ahead of Canada’s first game.

Nylander had gotten off to a solid start in the group stage, putting up three points in Sweden’s first two games against the Czech Republic and Italy.

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Monday was his true coming out at the tournament, as Nylander led his team with a goal and four assists including a sweet dish to Alexander Wennberg.

Sweden would go on to beat Norway by a 9-1 score. Nylander was named the Player of the Game for his team.

The Swedes now sit at 2-1 for the tournament and are tied for third place with the Czech Republic in Group B. They still have four games remaining against Austria, Switzerland, Latvia, and Russia to finish off the group stage.

As for Nylander, he always seems to have a strong showing every time he plays for Tre Kronor. He finished fourth in tournament scoring in the World Championships two years ago with seven goals and 14 points in 10 games. Sweden would go on and win the gold medal that year with a victory over Canada in the final.

Coming off that successful tournament, he tied his career-high 61 points with the Maple Leafs in 2017-18.

In a move that could be chalked up to superstition, Nylander changed from his customary No. 29 to 88 – the number he wore with MODO prior to being drafted by the Maple Leafs. He now leads the tournament in scoring with eight points in three contests.

Nylander decided to play hardball with the Leafs when it came to a contract extension, and the rest is history. He’d sign with minutes to spare before the December 1 deadline for him to get a deal done. After returning to Toronto, he’d have a tough time getting back to his former production, posting just seven goals and 27 points in 54 games.

With nothing to worry about but his performance next season, Nylander should be able to return to form while taking regular shifts along Auston Matthews. The Leafs will be hoping that this spring showing from the 23-year-old carries over to the 2019-20 campaign.