Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander earned the Guldpucken as the top Swedish player of the 2024-25 season.
The Golden Puck is the equivalent of the Hart Trophy in Sweden. It was originally awarded to the best player in the SHL. But since the 2014-15 season, the award has been bestowed on the best Swedish player in the NHL.
How swede it is 🇸🇪
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) August 4, 2025
Congrats to Willy on receiving the GuldPucken, awarded to the best Swedish player of the past season đź‘Ź pic.twitter.com/V8Xktz8Sap
Nylander joins three-time winner Erik Karlsson and other recipients such as Victor Hedman, Gabriel Landeskog, and Gustav Forsling as the best Swede in the NHL.
The Maple Leafs winger scored 45 goals to finish runner-up in the Rocket Richard race. He added 39 assists for 84 points in 82 games. 2024-25 was Nylander’s fourth 80-plus-point season. He notched a career high of 98 points in 2023-24.
The Guldpucken marks Nylander’s first major international award. Since joining the NHL, Nylander has been a model of consistency. He’s scored 262 goals and 612 points in 685 career games.
He’ll be counted on this season to continue his success, as he aims for his fourth straight 40-goal season. It’s also worth noting that Nylander has scored 26 goals and 58 points in 67 career postseason games. This past playoff run, Nylander led the way with 15 points in 13 games.
Nylander to represent Maple Leafs on Team Sweden at 2026 Olympic Games
William Nylander was among the first six names confirmed for Team Sweden’s preliminary Olympic roster back in June.
Nylander will be joining Victor Hedman, Adrian Kempe, Rasmus Dahlin, Lucas Raymond, and Gabriel Landeskog on the uber-talented European squad.
As NHL.com noted, Nylander was born in Calgary while his father, former NHLer Mikael Nylander, played for the Flames. As such, William Nylander is a dual citizen (Swedish-Canadian) but has opted to represent Team Sweden in international tourneys.
William Nylander was on the Swedish squad for the 4 Nations Face-Off. He has also represented Sweden at the World Championships on four occasions. He won tournament MVP in 2017 when the Swedes took home the gold.
The 2026 Olympic Games will mark the first time current NHLers represent the Three Crowns at the Olympics since the 2014 Sochi Games in Russia. The final rosters for Team Sweden, among all other participating countries, are expected to be announced at some point in January 2026.
Nylander and the Swedes will be eager to avenge their losses at the 4 Nations Face-Off by making a good showing at the Olympics.