William Nylander aiming for top rookie status on Maple Leafs this season
The hood of William Nylander’s Toronto Maple Leafs sweatshirt was pulled tightly over his head as he considered goals for the first full season of his NHL career.
“They’re just my own,” he said without specifics, “just what I’ve been thinking about, what I think I can do.”
What the 20-year-old thinks he can do is rise to the top of the Leafs impressive rookie class, one that includes Calder Trophy favourite and No. 1 overall pick Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, an OHL superstar last season. Nylander, who carries himself with a cool confidence, wants to outplay them all.
“I want to be the best on the team for sure,” Nylander said in a post-practice interview this week.