Nylander brothers primed to push each other in Toronto

New Toronto Marlies winger Alex Nylander is excited to join William Nylander in the centre of the hockey universe next season. Big brother feels the same way. 

"He was obviously really happy," Alex told TSN on Tuesday. "We're really looking forward to this. It's going to be awesome. I've obviously watched the Leafs the most out of all the teams, so I know [them] really well. We'll live together and all that stuff. It can't get any better."

Well, actually, it could. After signing an American Hockey League contract with the Marlies, Alex is hoping to earn an NHL deal and play alongside William with the Maple Leafs. 

"It helps you get even more motivated," the 26-year-old forward acknowledged during a Zoom call from Stockholm. "He's going to be there all the time. He'll be able to see what I'm doing. He's going to push me and I'm going to do the same thing to him ... Playing together on the same team would be amazing." 

It last happened at the 2016 World Juniors when the Nylander boys were linemates and dominated during pre-tournament action. They then linked up on Sweden's opening goal of the tournament before a blindside hit by Swiss forward Chris Egli knocked William out of the event only minutes later. 

"We're kind of similar players," Alex said. "We both can shoot and like to pass at the same time. We both like to hold onto the pucks and make plays from there. I kind of know what he's going to try to do. He's so good, so he can just find you whenever. Our chemistry is good."

That chemistry flows in the off-season when the pair train together. Although they weren't always on the same side in the summer scrimmages. 

"We've been playing together the past few summers," Alex said with a grin. "They had to put us together so we wouldn't go at it, because we would get so mad at each other. We had to change it up and be on the same team."

William has been on the same NHL team since the Leafs drafted him eighth overall in 2014. He is coming off a career year, which saw him pile up 98 points in 82 games while earning an invitation to the All-Star Game and an eight-year contract extension worth $92-million. The 28-year-old shows no signs of slowing down. 

"He's just been getting better every day," Alex marvelled. "He still strives. He still drives. He's determined every year to get better and wants to prove that he wants to be one of the best. So, obviously that helps me and pushes me ... He's just so determined to get that Stanley Cup now. He's working every day. It's awesome to see, actually, how much work he puts in on and off the ice."

The pair see each other almost every day in the summer, but William didn't lobby Alex to sign with Toronto.

"He was giving me the space to decide," Alex said. "It's a huge decision in my career. My goal is to play in the NHL, so we had to make the decision about what we think is best and not just because he's playing there. In the end, with the teams we had [interested], this was the best decision for me."

Alex had a "great conversation" with Leafs management, who highlighted the fact that playing in Toronto would ensure a lot of eyes on him at all times.  

It's been hard for Alex to stick in the NHL since being picked eighth overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2016. He played just 19 games with the Sabres over three seasons before being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for defenceman Henri Jokiharju.

Alex scored 10 goals in 65 games with the Blackhawks during the 2019-20 season. He sustained a knee injury during the bubble playoffs, which led to surgery and slowed his momentum. The Blackhawks eventually traded Alex to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward Sam Lafferty on Jan. 5, 2022. 

Alex scored just one goal in 14 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins over the past two seasons. However, he put up impressive numbers in the AHL, including 25 goals and 25 assists in 55 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the 2022-23 season. He posted 17 goals and 15 assists in 43 games in the AHL last season.  

In February, the Penguins sent Alex and a conditional sixth-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for forward Emil Bemstrom. The change of scenery helped him get on a roll. Alex scored 11 goals and chipped in four assists in 23 games with the Jackets. 

What clicked? 

"I decided I just got to play my game the way I've been playing in the A," he explained. "You just got to build on your confidence. You got to work hard every single shift and move your feet. I just kind of let loose a little bit."

Nylander felt instant chemistry with linemates Cole Sillinger and Alexandre Texier and scored in his third game with Columbus on Feb. 29. It was his first NHL goal in almost a calendar year. 

"It gave me a confidence boost, because it had been a long time since I scored in the NHL," Alex said. "It was huge. Once I got one, we were just buzzing. I just kept playing the way I did in the AHL, you know, playing free. I wasn't thinking too much out there other than I know I just got to work and move my feet, and the rest will come."

Head coach Pascal Vincent, who was fired after the season, told Alex he would get playing time even if he made mistakes as long as he was consistently engaged. 

"That kind of helped," Alex noted. "Just knowing that I can try to make my plays and if I work hard he's going to play me."

Despite Vincent's exit and the arrival of a new general manager in Don Waddell, Alex still expected to receive a qualifying offer from Columbus. It never came. 

"I thought I'd be playing there," he said. "But that's the business and stuff like that happens. It's in the past and not really thinking about that too much. I'm just really happy with where I am now, and looking forward to this opportunity. Playing for the Leafs in the future is my goal and I'll do what I can to help the Marlies every night."

The upcoming season won't be the first time the Nylander siblings have been in the Greater Toronto Area together. Alex played for the Mississauga Steelheads during the 2015-16 season. William started that year with the Marlies before making the jump to the Leafs.  

"It's a huge hockey city and the fans are awesome," Alex said. "There's obviously a little more pressure playing there with the Leafs with it being such a big market, but [William] says it's awesome. He loves it ... I always love going to Toronto every time I visit. We really like Toronto, both of us." 

The Nylander brothers plan to arrive in Toronto in early September. For now, they'll continue to push each other on the ice and also on the golf course in Sweden. 

"He's so good at golf," Alex said with a laugh. "It's unfair. But I'm getting better. He says he's a two handicap, four handicap, whatever he says, but he's like a scratch golfer. I don't want to play with strokes. I just want to play even. My handicap is like an eight, so he's been winning most of the times. He's better than me on the golf course as well, but I'm getting there. It's a lot of fun and good competition. We always want to compete against each other no matter what we do."