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Buffalo Sabres Draft Busts: Alexander Nylander (8th overall, 2016)

By Sion Fawkes

TORONTO,ON - SEPTEMBER 21: Alexander Nylander #92 of the Buffalo Sabres skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL pre-season game at Scotiabank Arena on September 21, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Sabres 5-3. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO,ON - SEPTEMBER 21: Alexander Nylander #92 of the Buffalo Sabres skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL pre-season game at Scotiabank Arena on September 21, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Sabres 5-3. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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Alexander Nylander was supposed to help turn the Buffalo Sabres into a contender, much like Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart. 

Alexander Nylander was the eighth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft and he was expected to give the Buffalo Sabres another puzzle piece on a budding young core group of players. Instead of giving the Sabres a dynamic piece to work with, Nylander faceplanted with just 19 career games and six points in the Queen City.

He made a couple of cameo appearances in 2016-17, and 2017-18, the latter season marring the Sabres offense to just 199 goals for in 82 games, an average of 2.42 goals per game. This is one of many reasons they finished the season with just 62 points in what will go down as one of the worst in franchise history.

Nylander was one player slated to move up into the NHL full-time to help alleviate the laughably bad Sabres offense. Problem was, he appeared in just 12 games in 2018-19.

Alexander Nylander will go down as one of the biggest draft busts in Buffalo Sabres history.

While fans, coaches, and pundits expected more from Nylander, his showing in the AHL foreshadowed what was coming when he reached the NHL. He appeared in 165 games for the Rochester Americans and never found his rhythm, scoring just 87 points, 30 goals, and 57 assists.

While Nylander wouldn’t play for the Sabres again following that disappointing 2018-19 season, you can’t quite blame them for taking Nylander so early. The guy had 75 points, 28 goals, and 47 assists in just 57 games for the Mississauga Steelheads in 2015-16, meaning the Sabres weren’t the only team who listed Nylander high on their draft boards.

Add to the fact he had a history of representing Team Sweden at the international level since 2013-14, and it represents yet another reason you can’t blame general manager Tim Murray for taking a chance on Nylander. During his time playing internationally and in the OHL, everyone knew Nylander as a player who could create something out of nothing. And occasionally, he showed those flashes in the AHL and NHL.

He showed most of these flashes during his 28-point campaign in 2016-17 with Rochester, which really isn’t terrible for a first-year player. 2017-18 was a small step forward, with 27 points in 51 games, but it wasn’t the leap expected from him. You can say the same for his 2018-19 season, the majority of which he also spent in Rochester, logging just 31 points in 49 games.

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Top 10 picks are supposed to make giant leaps season to season. Unfortunately for Nylander, he could not make those leaps, instead taking small steps. But his value to the Sabres wasn’t a complete waste – When they traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Sabres acquired a serviceable chess piece in Henri Jokiharju.

Article Source: Is Alex Nylander a Bust? by Brett Slawson 

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference, Elite Prospects, and Hockey DB)

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