Penguins A to Z: Alex Nylander made the most of his fresh start
With the Penguins’ 2021-22 season coming to a quick ending in the first round of the playoffs, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 54 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until the 2022-23 season — with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to top-six winger Jason Zucker.
Alex Nylander
Position: Left winger
Shoots: Right
Age: 24
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 192 pounds
2021-22 AHL statistics: 67 games, 42 points (22 goals, 20 assists)
Contract: In a one-year contract with a salary cap hit of $874,125. Pending restricted free agent this offseason.
Acquired: Trade, Jan. 5, 2022
Last season: Alex Nylander has a name that stands out.
Particularly his last name.
His father, Michael, was a productive playmaking center in the NHL throughout the 1990s and the 2000s. And his brother, William, has developed into a star winger with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
As for Alex, he has largely languished as a professional ever since the Buffalo Sabres made him the eighth overall selection in the 2016 draft.
After appearing in only 19 games over three seasons with that woeful franchise, Nylander was dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2019 offseason and appeared to finally take a step forward by playing in 65 games and scoring 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season.
Sidelined for all of the 2020-21 campaign due to a left knee injury, Nylander opened 2021-22 with the Rockford Ice Hogs, the Blackhawks’ American Hockey League affiliate. After 23 games and 12 points (eight goals, four assists) with Rockford, he was dealt to the Penguins in exchange for reserve forward Sam Lafferty.
Primarily inhabiting a top-six role in five-on-five situations and working on the top power-play unit, Nylander — who is capable of playing either wing — injected some high-end skill into a lineup that has largely been missing that type of talent given the organization’s penchant for trading away top draft picks for 15-plus years.
In 44 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Nylander had 30 points (14 goals and 16 assists) while helping the team reach the postseason for the first time in three years.
Appearing in all six of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s postseason games, Nylander was the team’s leading scorer with six points (three goals, three assists).
The future: As a pending restricted free agent, Nylander is bound to receive a qualifying offer from the Penguins.
General manager Ron Hextall was high on Nylander and pursued the trade that landed the one-time top prospect. And Nylander largely justified that interest by fully buying into the organization’s culture — particularly with regards to the defensive game — and leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s surge to the postseason.
As far as his NHL future goes, Nylander is always going to get the benefit of the doubt and will be given every consideration to make a roster given his draft status. Management seems happy with how he performed for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and, given his skills, will likely give him every opportunity to make the NHL roster out of training camp in September.
Nylander needed a fresh start with the Penguins and appeared to make the most of it.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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