'We'll be friends after': Nylander faces former coach Sörensen as Leafs visit Chicago
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The Maple Leafs and Blackhawks held media availabilities at the United Center on Sunday afternoon.
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When William Nylander skates by the Chicago Blackhawks bench on Sunday night, he will see a familiar face. Anders Sörensen, who took over as Blackhawks interim head coach in December, coached Nylander during his minor hockey days and remains a family friend.
Although that friendship will be on pause when the pair reunite inside the United Center.
"We'll be friends after," Sörensen said with a smile.
Sörensen settled in the Chicago area after his playing days and ended up mentoring a six-year-old Nylander while his dad played for the Blackhawks.
Sörensen was also a coach with Södertälje SK when both Nylander and his father, Michael Nylander, played for the Swedish club during the 2012-13 season. Sörensen also worked with Nylander the next season, which is when their paths diverged.
But they continue to be close and exchanged messages most recently during the 4 Nations Face-Off when Nylander was playing for Sweden.
Any favourite memory from over the years?
"He's just a really good person," Sörensen said. "The biggest thing is the way he treats my kids. He's great to them. He checks with them. Texts them, talks to them, so that's probably the biggest thing if you're looking at memories. That's impressive."
This season Sörensen emerged as the first Swedish born head coach in NHL history. Meanwhile, Nylander has emerged as a star with the Leafs. He arrives in Chicago with 33 goals, which is second in the league.
"He keeps growing," said Sörensen. "His game keeps growing. Obviously a ton of breakaways this year."
How can the Blackhawks stop Nylander, who produced two assists in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, from getting loose?
"Score goals," Sörensen said with a laugh before turning serious. "You have to be aware. He's a smart player and he anticipates well."
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Connor Dewar is available to return from an upper-body injury, but the Leafs will stick with the same lineup on Sunday.
"I liked the way our guys played last night," coach Craig Berube said.
The Blackhawks, who are coming off a 5-1 loss in Columbus, will make one change on defence with Nolan Allan replacing Ethan Del Mastro.
Arvid Söderblom starts for the Blackhawks while the Leafs will give Joseph Woll his first NHL start in Chicago.
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When the Hurricanes pulled within a goal late in Saturday's game, Berube leaned on centre Auston Matthews and winger Mitch Marner. The dynamic duo both ended up playing more than 19 minutes and didn't show many signs of fatigue following Thursday's intense 4 Nations Face-Off championship game.
"They were good players for us considering what they came off of and the emotions they came off of," said Berube. "There could be a letdown, but I didn't feel there was a letdown with them. They worked, competed and did some good things."
"They love to play," said centre John Tavares. "They're gamers. Obviously, just took part in a pretty special and unique event. A lot of emotion involved. Quite the commitment, you know, you talk about physical, emotional, mental, all those sorts of things so, you know, not easy, but they came out and played well."
Matthews sealed the win Saturday with an empty-net goal.
"They get paid the big bucks," said winger Steven Lorentz with a smile. "But, at the end of the day, they grind it too ... When the minutes get up there with them you don't really see it [effect them] a whole lot. They're fresh and they're always ready to go."
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Berube considered challenged Carolina's first goal, which made the game 4-1, because it looked like it may have been offside.
"It was tight and close," he said. "We gave them [video coaches Jordan Bean and Sam Kim] a timeout and let them look a little longer."
An incorrect challenge would have given the Hurricanes a power play and more momentum.
"In that situation, it has to be 110 per cent sure," said Berube with a grin. "It was only 105 per cent."
The Leafs are 5-for-5 on challenges this season.
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Alex Steeves, who was called up from the AHL earlier in the week, opened the scoring on Saturday night. It was the first career NHL goal for the 25-year-old.
"It felt really good," he said. "A bit of relief, honestly."
Why relief?
"Any time anyone gets called up you just want to make an impact," the Minnesota native explained. "I am a goal scorer and I know that and I know I can be a goal scorer at this level so just proving that with a nice finish."
What will Steeves do with the puck?
"I don't really know," he said. "I'm not really one to display all that stuff. I don't even have a house. I live in my parents house in the basement in the summers. I'm sure my mom maybe will have a little shrine in my room or something. Right now it's just going to go in a cupboard until the season's over."
Steeves one-timed a pass from Tavares past Pyotr Kochetkov from the faceoff dot. He's scored from that spot plenty of times in the AHL where he's leading the league with 29 goals in 40 games.
But prior to Saturday, Steeves had produced just two assists in 11 career NHL games. He's struggled to earn consistent playing time since making his debut in December 2021.
Steeves, who also picked up an assist on Saturday, has earned another chance in Chicago. Berube liked his all-around game against the Hurricanes.
"He did a lot of good things for us," the coach said. "He was hard on the forecheck. He plays a simple game. It is direct. That is what I like about it. He forechecked well with that line. He worked hard. He did a lot of good things like that. And he has the ability to score a goal."
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Leafs lines in Saturday's game:
Knies - Matthews - Marner
Holmberg - Tavares - Nylander
McMann - Domi - Robertson
Lorentz - Kampf - Steeves
McCabe - Tanev
Rielly - Ekman-Larsson
Benoit - Timmins
Stolarz starts
Woll