2016-17 Rookie Spotlight: William Nylander

Welcome to another 2016-17 Rookie Spotlight, where I will be looking at rookies making their NHL debut during the 2016-17 season. (or who are still considered rookies for the 2016-17 season) Today we take a look at William Nylander from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Name: William Nylander

Age: 20

Size: 6ft0 190 lbs

Hometown: Calgary, Alberta Canada (nationality: Sweden)

Jersey #: 29

Drafted: 1st Round 8th Overall in 2014 draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs

Position: Center, Right Wing

Junior Team: MODO Hockey

2016-17 stats: GP 46 G 10 A 21 Pts 31

Comparable NHL players: Jeff Skinner, Nicklas Backstrom

Nylander is one of the three high profile rookies that the Leafs have on their roster. (The others being Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner) He had a phenomenal start to the season, then cooled down, and has been streaky since. William is much like his father Michael Nylander (who played 15 NHL seasons) he is not a big player, but makes up for that with his skill and soft hands. There is no denying the kid is talented, and he is often lost in the shadows of the other two Leafs rookie stars. He is a talented play maker, who will have no trouble finding the back of the net.

He has enormous upside, and the sky is the limit for him.He can be a puck hog at times, and has consistency issues. However there is no reason why Nylander can't be a regular 70-80 point per year player. He is a player any team would take. Just look at some of these goals:

He has a plethora of talent, however the problem might be that the Leafs have tons of that. Which has led to many talks about Nylander being traded. If I am a Leafs fan, I hope that doesn't happen. This kid is just too good to let go.