Maple Leafs should call up this winger after dominating in the AHL

The Toronto Maple Leafs have already featured a small amount of talent from their AHL affiliate, Toronto Marlies, this season, with Jacob Quillan and the most recent headliner of the team in the past couple of weeks, Bo Groulx.

With the season being around only five weeks from being complete, they should turn their attention to another Marlies forward who is producing at a solid pace. That player, Alex Nylander.

Nylander, the younger brother of the Leafs' leading scorer, William, has 43 points (19 goals, 24 assists), which makes him the second-highest scorer on the Marlies this season. What really stands out in regard to him is how consistent he is with his scoring. In his last five games, Nylander has 10 points (five goals and assists), including 16 points (eight goals and assists) in his last 10 games played.

Nylander had a brief stint with the Leafs last season, where he suited up for five games but failed to record a point. He did, however, finish the year with the Marlies by recording 44 points, putting him in second place on the team. Nylander is currently on pace to meet his AHL career-high point total this year, which is 50. That amount still isn't close to half bad, as a near 50-point season would benefit any roster, especially the Leafs this year. They need depth for the future, especially next year. With Nylander only being 28-years-old, there's a window of opportunity waiting for him, given the numbers he has produced this year.

The Leafs no doubt need a player like this heading into next season

With the Leafs possibly going into rebuild mode this offseason, the team could use the services of Nylander. His 43-point season this year wouldn't look too bad at all with the current roster the Leafs have assembled this year. Not to mention, with the departure of Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton and Nicolas Roy this past trade deadline, the current roster aches for more forward depth, and the other half of the Nylander brothers won't be a terrible option to consider, just given his consistency and ability to put up points at a very high pace this year.

Some might argue that Alex and William are indeed brothers. They sport the same jersey tuck, have similar beards and not to mention that Alex basically skates and maneuvers on the ice just like William. However, while he might not put up the same amount of points as his older brother for the Leafs, he basically racks up points almost every game, like him, which is crucial in any hockey league.

As it feels like the Leafs could have certainly used another Nylander on the team throughout the season, there is another one in the AHL knocking on the door for yet another shot in the NHL. While it's unlikely he gets an opportunity this season, the Leafs should keep an eye on him, especially for next season when they look to start on a clean slate.