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2016 NHL Draft: Buffalo Sabres draft Alexander Nylander with 8th pick

For the past two season, the Buffalo Sabres have had the #2 pick in the NHL Draft, picking franchise players in Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart. This year, the team wasn’t picking quite as high, but Tim Murray and company are hoping the player they pick in the first round proves just as successful as their previous two drafts.

With the #8 overall selection in the 2016 NHL Draft, the Sabres selected LW/RW Alexander Nylander from the Mississauga Steelheads of the OHL.

Nylander is an offensively gifted forward, who uses his speed, explosiveness, vision, and creativity to put up points and make his linemates better. Nylander scored 28-47-75 in 57 games in the OHL last season, and was even more productive in the playoffs, scoring 6-6-12 in just six games. He’s been described by many as one of the best skaters in the draft, and has the vision and hockey sense of a player like Sam Reinhart.

The versatile forward described his own game as “A play maker, a game breaker with very good hockey sense,” which most scouts would agree with. Nylander shoots righty but played left wing this year, giving him the ability to move around the lineup with ease. Sabres GM Tim Murray was noncommittal when it came to putting Nylander in a position, saying, “He’s an tremedously skilled player. He’s going to eventually fit in somewhere, whether it’s center, or wing, I think they’re all interchangeable at this point.”

In addition to his considerable skills, he also happens to be the brother of Maple Leafs forward William Nylander, adding another element to the already-spicy Sabres and Leafs rivalry. In his first post-draft interview, he tried to play down the brother-on-brother rivalry, though he did say his brother talks more trash, but he (Alex) has the better hair.

Nylander will continue to need to add size and strength to his 6’0, 175lbs frame, but because he was technically on load to Mississauga, he can do so this year the OHL, AHL, or NHL thanks to a nice loophole in the CHL-NHL agreement. He could also return to Sweden for a year to play pro hockey overseas.

Alex Nylander represents something every team covets on the wing – speed and skill. He also represents a win for DBTB, as we totally called it in the SBN Mock Draft. Give us your thoughts on Nylander, the brotherly rivalry, and where he should play next year in the comments.

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