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Toronto Maple Leafs 2014 NHL Entry Draft: Where Are They Now?

By Spencer Teixeira

TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 17: Rinat Valiev #3 of the Toronto Marlies skates up ice against the Manitoba Moose during AHL game action on December 17, 2017 at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 17: Rinat Valiev #3 of the Toronto Marlies skates up ice against the Manitoba Moose during AHL game action on December 17, 2017 at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – APRIL 11: Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (29) reacts to his goal during Game 1 of the First Round between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 11, 2019, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – APRIL 11: Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (29) reacts to his goal during Game 1 of the First Round between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 11, 2019, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Leafs had the chance to select top-flight, skill first prospects like William Nylander, Nikolai Ehlers, Dylan Larkin, and David Pastrnak at number eight, but prevailing thought was that the Leafs were leaning towards status quo power forwards like Nick Ritchie.

So, it was a big shock when Dave Nonis stepped up to the mic and selected forward William Nylander from Sweden.

Nylander spent most of his draft year with MODO Hockey of the SHL, scoring  seven points in 22 games. Following his selection, Nylander would split the 2014-15 season between MODO and the Toronto Marlies, scoring 20 points in 21 SHL games and 32 points in 37 AHL games.

Most of his explosive production is due to his excellent, new-world skill set, as highlighted by Elite Prospects,

"“[Nylander] is a highly skilled [offensive player]. [He] skates very well, has impressive hands and is excellent at handling the puck at high speeds. Hockey sense is very impressive and he likes to shoot the puck a lot, but is also capable of delivering perfect passes. A very agile player that protects the puck well and skates hard in the offensive zone…Has the tools to lead his team in all offensive aspects.”"

Nylander would split the 2015-16 season between the first-place Marlies and last-place Maple Leafs, scoring 45 points in 38 AHL games and 13 points in 22 NHL games.

Nylander would make the NHL full time in 2016-17, and has appeared in 217 NHL games since then, scoring 149 points. Nylander is also top 10 over the last three years in many valuable (in my opinion) base-level stats. Willy has registered the sixth best CorsiFor % (57.4), fifth best points (149), eighth most games played (217), third most takeaways (155, just 109 give aways) and 10th highest PDO (101.8).

Nylander is criminally under appreciated by Leafs fans, which is mostly due to a long and arduous contract holdout in 2018 that left many God-fearing boomers baffled and angry. However, regardless of whatever your Uncle Chuck from Stayner might think, William “Greedlander” is an excellent player.

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