TORONTO — The last time William Nylander killed penalties, it was quite possibly a form of punishment.
“It was during practice [last April] in Vancouver, the day after I missed that [team] meeting,” Nylander recounted on Saturday, ahead of Toronto’s final preseason game against Ottawa. “I don’t know [if those were related], but it had been awhile since I’d done it before that; I couldn’t tell you when.”
Nylander won’t have that problem anymore. The Maple Leafs’ winger has gone from punishment to promotion, being groomed to take a bigger role on Toronto’s penalty kill for the coming season.
Coach Sheldon Keefe has been ruminating on the idea since Toronto’s first-round playoff exit last May. He broached the topic with Nylander then and was met with enthusiasm, which Keefe is pleased to see bleeding into Nylander’s preparation for the gig.
“I think he’s been great; he’s embraced it,” Keefe said. “When I spoke with him about it, he had no doubts and no questions, he was ready go. He’s been attentive in the meetings, he’s asked questions. So it’s been really good. These are the kind of things that pre-season is for. Once we get rolling here in the regular season, we’ll see how it all shakes out.”
To Nylander, the appeal of killing penalties is that it translates to more ice time. He’s motivated by guys like Mitch Marner who are able to stay engaged throughout games by virtue of appearing on both the power play and penalty kill.
“I’ve always thought that it would be good, especially when there’s a lot of PKs in game,” Nylander said. “It’s good to get out there to get the legs going and get moving versus sitting on the bench for an extended period of time. And you’re trying to keep the puck out of the net too, which is the most important thing. I was happy that they brought it up. I’m looking forward to it.”
Keefe has been a party to Nylander’s development since the winger came to North America, coaching him with the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies from 2014-16, before taking over the Leafs’ bench in 2019. So Keefe knew from watching Nylander’s evolution last season that he was ready for more responsibility.
“I feel like he took big steps in terms of his attention to detail defensively, and his play without the puck in general,” Keefe said. “He was consistently more competitive on the puck, and then you see his skill set within that – he’s strong, he’s quick, he’s got good instincts, he’s got a really good stick to pick off pucks, and of course he’s dangerous in transition. So we’ve just seen some growth in him, and when we see growth in a player, we feel like his role needs to grow as well to reflect that.”
The Leafs’ penalty kill is also going through a period of overall transformation, starting with its structure. Gone is former coach Dave Hakstol, who ran that unit the last two seasons, and his replacement Dean Chynoweth has implemented a fresh philosophy. The hope is that Chynoweth can guide the Leafs’ penalty kill to more consistent success than it had last season, when Toronto finished 24th (78.5 per cent) overall shorthanded.
Alex Kerfoot previously described Chynoweth’s vision for the penalty kill as, “if we’re going to get beat, we’re going to get beat throughout aggressiveness, not passiveness.” To make that work, the Leafs will need a stable of players available to contribute.
“The way we want to kill penalties this season is going to require a lot more pressure, which is going to take a lot more more energy from [individuals],” Keefe said. “So we’re going to need more guys to do it. We’ve got a lot of different options there, we’ve got different people that could contribute there at different times. We’re trying to give ourselves as many opportunities [as possible] to utilize the lineup and the depth in different situations and it’s a competition for those positions as well.”
Keefe identified Ondrej Kase and Auston Matthews as other new players he’d like to see killing penalties this year. Kase has gotten some reps already in the preseason, and if Matthews hadn’t missed so much time rehabbing a wrist injury, he would have been involved in a similar capacity from the get-go.
It’s all part of Keefe’s plan to maximize the Leafs’ best talents.
“Maybe there’s an endless string of penalties and you don’t want your players sitting for too long and you want to get them out there feeling comfortable,” Keefe said. “So we just have this opportunity [in preseason] to gain that confidence that they can do it, and that the coaches believe in them. I think that’s a really healthy thing for our team.”
Nylander is certainly all-in on the assignment, and ready to test his skills in a regular season game. Toronto has been approved to house a capacity crowd for the home opener at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday, and there’s nothing Nylander would like more than to show off the fruits of his recent efforts.
I’ve been wanting to get going for real since camp started,” he said. “So it’ll be nice to get going with the fans and everything back, it’s going to be a good time. I feel pretty good. But camp is camp, and preseason is preseason. Now I have to translate that into [what’s next].”
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — No. 1 Texas will start Arch Manning at quarterback Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe while regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.
It will be the first career start for Manning, a second year freshman. He relieved Ewers in the second quarter last week against UTSA, and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-7 Texas victory.
Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning.
Ewers missed several games over the previous two seasons with shoulder and sternum injuries.
The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and Saturday’s matchup with the Warhawks is Texas’ last game before the program starts its first SEC schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.
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