I’ll admit it. Here comes the time to be clear: I had a lot of William Nylander in my own game.
To put it bluntly, this excludes his ability to skate and use his edges, to shoot, to watch the game, and more generally to play sports. After further review, I played nothing like it, and almost a tenth. But at different levels (BCHL, NCAA and ECHL) I was a top-six forward, and in some cases a pretty good one, and the tendency to play those long stretched sleep games that forced my coaches to pull their hair.
When I was busy I was a double player, able to prepare for my teammates, drive action towards the opponent and create offense in each shift. You will think then, I will have an explanation for why I did not do it more. You will notice that my career has topped with a single NHL show game, which can certainly be improved with more consistent engagement. So why didn’t I get up to play more hockey?
True, I do not know. If I only knew. I like to think that if I could do it again I would put more pressure on the emotional side of the game. I hope I take it more seriously and recognize the opportunity that lies ahead of me. I guess I was pretty satisfied that life would be okay anyway, and so when I didn’t have legs, or I wasn’t that sharp mentally, I just waited and hoped for the possibility that sometimes came, and often didn’t. .
“Hope” is probably the key word there – it’s a curse for some coaches – because hockey involves a lot of luck, and some days you can sleep through a game, get a few lucky bounces and everything looks fine. In that case you “hope”, however. I couldn’t force the issue when the game gave me a more challenging hand and I wasn’t feeling my best.
I’m still talking about Nylander here, too, of course. That fame has pushed him from time to time with fans, teammates and his coaches. He is such an elite genius that even with extended inspired play he can suddenly score 30 goals, 70 points and go to the sunset with joy. The problem for those who were tasked with getting the most out of it is that Nylander has got the ceiling of many people who finish in the top-10 in scoring, yet in his great statistical season he finds himself at 42.ndAfter finishing 64M Last year. His statistically comparable Clayton Keller and Kevin Fialla have more than six-through-10 in league scoring, which today includes Nazem Qadri, Matthew Takachuk, Kyle Connor and Jetty Miller. And that doesn’t seem right.
Still, I can’t help but see Nylander and his occasional push-up in one of the most frustrating situations: rewarding a coach for punishing him. Whether you’re benched, or resigned, or worse, a healthier scratch, this is a weird situation for a player, especially for someone like Willie who’s on a long-term contract (or as it were in my case, a four-year one). Scholarship). Whether or not you “need” a kick, it never feels good, or makes you extra happy with the person who does it. And so after you get back in the lineup, or called publicly, if you play very well, you will reward the person who punished you. You give that punishment positive energy. I’ve seen Nylander play the last few games net and live in blue and look like his best version above 200 feet and wonder how much ammunition it gives his coach, and heck, even his opponents.
At the beginning of the season, Sheldon Keefe had this to say about Nylander:
“I have spoken to Will many times. He made it clear to me that he was a person who wanted and needed to be pushed and challenged. She feels she needs it. Sometimes that’s the way it is for him.
What we sometimes see from Will is an influential player who is better or better than anyone on the ice, who has taken us through some tough patches and produced at a high level. At other times, it’s not good. What we’re trying to find out with Will and all of our players is to make sure the difference between your best and your worst isn’t a huge gap.“
From a coach’s point of view, you have to respect that. But as a player, with respect, I always felt that the guy who took me off the first line and told me to sit on the stand could go kick kick.
Recently, Keefe tactfully answered questions about Nylander that he “doesn’t want to pile on the will” and that Nylander knows he needs to be better. And since then, Nylander has been good. It gives the idea again that he can turn this kind of game on and off like a light switch, although I’m not sure how true that is. That would be great. And when Nylander launches it after it’s down, it probably strengthens that old familiar loop Willie plays great, gets compliments, sleeps, calls, plays great, gets compliments, sleeps, And in retirement.
In my opinion, there is no fix with a different team or a different coach, it is just the type of Nilender and always will be. There is no call for action on my part, where I think Kieff should be tougher on him (this is not sustainable for a long term relationship) or dismiss him altogether (which is likely to allow these extensions to continue for a longer period of time).
This is an orchid in a situation where if the nylander gets the right amount of light and a little water and the right temperature, he can improve and be beautiful. For last year’s Playoff Leafs, they got the finest version of Nylander and that’s when they needed it the most. That’s what they want to do again this season.
Part of that perfect ecosystem, for this particular player and for players like him, in a moment, they just need that little extra pressure. That is a fact. And players in this mold may not like to reward their coaches for punishing them – as I mentioned, I’m not sure – the option is a completely non-option. No one will knowingly continue playing badly unless they die for the transaction or are cut in my case. These events are extremely rare.
And so, it’s just a strange cycle of Nylander and players from this mold. These can be frustrating and even touching, but when they are in full bloom, they are usually worth the effort. Nylander Of course.