Alex Nylander had a lot of hype coming into the NHL and after getting traded from the Sabres to the Blackhawks, fans and media are reflecting on his time in Buffalo.
Without question, for the eighth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, his time in Buffalo was a disappointment. He finished his time there with six points in 19 NHL games played and 86 points in 165 AHL games played. He may have had a little bit of extra hype because of his brother William and his father Michael, but still his skill level and performance at the World Juniors still give people hope.
Clearly Stan Bowman and the Chicago Blackhawks are part of the group that thinks he has more to give, and so is he. In fact, he seemed to throw some shade at the Sabres for his slow development.
To be honest, for the most part, Chicago has been trading away most of their first-round picks, so we’re not sure they’ve done a great job developing them in recent years.
However, the one thing that Nylander may have to look at with optimism is a change of scenery into Chicago seemed to work wonders for Dylan Strome. Perhaps the same happens to him and he can have a breakout season like the former third overall pick did last season.
