Guru Tugginmypuddah
Active member
Frank E said:
Reaves for McDavid.
2023-24 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
Reaves for McDavid.
herman
Well-known member
https://theathletic.com/5056268/2023/11/13/toronto-maple-leafs-william-nylander/
I find this to be a fascinating note because we've all seen Nylander shoot since he arrived here. It's a frickin' laser. Best shot on the team second to Matthews, without much contest.
It is interesting to me that there might be a mental component to it, which Tavares would be privy to. In AA-SHL development, Nylander was usually the clear-cut best skater on his team, even if smaller. I read a story off reddit from someone who played against him that his coach wouldn't allow him or his brother to shoot during games because it would be unfair to the competition, so he'd often just be carrying the puck and basically setting up tap ins.
[youtube]pmkfpNXvCsU[/youtube]
Once he landed on the NHL squad, he definitely still had his shot, but used it relatively sparingly (high slot). He was paired with Matthews for the first few years, and with that weapon on the line, of course he'd lean into passing more often than not. When he did shoot, it was still a laser, but not always on net.
[youtube]tpWZoVXJZj0[/youtube]
The second contract impasse did two things for Nylander:
1) his time off led to bulking up significantly, and it led directly to the second thing...
2) very, very sad numbers for 2018-2019
He's a hyper competitive player who has never truly suffered a power outage or performance deficit in his life. He was also moved to Tavares' wing relatively full time, so there's a different shape to the game. Those things led to some changes in Nylander's playstyle, and his steady march to $uper $tardom.
1) Shooting More
Pardon the data dump (NaturalStatTrick)
You can see the goal rates climb as his shot rate steadily increased. Nylander generally had underperformed his xG at even strength, making up for it in PP when there was more time to fire (or get one-time setups). Normally a shot rate increase is coupled with a shooting percentage decrease (larger denominator), but the reason Willy's scoring more is because fewer shots are getting blocked or missing the net. It's never been in his game to fire empty calorie wristers from the top of the circles, but Willy has gotten even more selective with shooting as well and found a couple of sweet spots for his linemates to find him regularly.
2) Net Front Ninja
The shots are coming from right in the home plate (danger zone). This speaks to the confidence Tavares mentioned at the top: confidence to get to the dirty ice, and confidence to pull the trigger. They're a healthy mix of cycle setups and rush chances.
Nylander is a net front ninja. It first started when the Leafs compacted their PP units into one and Nylander found himself playing net front. He got swoll the previous season, and he got lots of reps requiring quick hands inside contact. He translated it to 5v5 play by using his edgework and now heavier body to take the puck to the slot more and more frequently, but in a non-traditional net front way: arriving with the puck, not parking there and taking abuse.
https://twitter.com/RinkRatReport/status/1723198197533724877
He's no longer just waiting for linemates to give him the puck either.
The Leafs have only two players who can boast being legitimate one-man attackers that are the complete package of mobility, ice awareness, effective physicality on the boards, playmaking ability, and shooting prowess. These are the players you want to hang on to for as long as possible. All those previous skills he developed over the years--weaving through the NZ as a youth, quick hands in tight, claiming his space in dirty ice--have coalesced into what Willy is today: a finesse power forward.
I find this to be a fascinating note because we've all seen Nylander shoot since he arrived here. It's a frickin' laser. Best shot on the team second to Matthews, without much contest.
It is interesting to me that there might be a mental component to it, which Tavares would be privy to. In AA-SHL development, Nylander was usually the clear-cut best skater on his team, even if smaller. I read a story off reddit from someone who played against him that his coach wouldn't allow him or his brother to shoot during games because it would be unfair to the competition, so he'd often just be carrying the puck and basically setting up tap ins.
[youtube]pmkfpNXvCsU[/youtube]
Once he landed on the NHL squad, he definitely still had his shot, but used it relatively sparingly (high slot). He was paired with Matthews for the first few years, and with that weapon on the line, of course he'd lean into passing more often than not. When he did shoot, it was still a laser, but not always on net.
[youtube]tpWZoVXJZj0[/youtube]
The second contract impasse did two things for Nylander:
1) his time off led to bulking up significantly, and it led directly to the second thing...
2) very, very sad numbers for 2018-2019
He's a hyper competitive player who has never truly suffered a power outage or performance deficit in his life. He was also moved to Tavares' wing relatively full time, so there's a different shape to the game. Those things led to some changes in Nylander's playstyle, and his steady march to $uper $tardom.
1) Shooting More
Pardon the data dump (NaturalStatTrick)
| Season | G/60 | S/60 | S% | ixG/60 | iCF/60 | iFF/60 | iSCF/60 | iHDCF/60 |
| 20152016 | 1 | 7.18 | 13.95 | 0.71 | 16.53 | 11.85 | 8.18 | 1.67 |
| 20162017 | 1.02 | 9.48 | 10.73 | 0.87 | 16.79 | 13.23 | 8.84 | 2.5 |
| 20172018 | 0.88 | 8.07 | 10.87 | 0.86 | 16.66 | 11.62 | 10.26 | 3.33 |
| 20182019 | 0.5 | 9.31 | 5.38 | 0.9 | 17.62 | 13.61 | 11.46 | 4.15 |
| 20192020 | 1.5 | 9.55 | 15.74 | 1.04 | 14.3 | 12.16 | 9.93 | 5.23 |
| 20202021 | 1.2 | 9.43 | 12.78 | 1.15 | 15.38 | 12.76 | 10.7 | 4.82 |
| 20212022 | 1.38 | 10.38 | 13.28 | 1.11 | 18.93 | 14.8 | 11.59 | 4.62 |
| 20222023 | 1.58 | 11.56 | 13.65 | 1.36 | 20.36 | 15.94 | 12.83 | 5.52 |
| 20232024 | 2.06 | 14.4 | 14.29 | 1.5 | 24.06 | 18.72 | 13.16 | 3.7 |
You can see the goal rates climb as his shot rate steadily increased. Nylander generally had underperformed his xG at even strength, making up for it in PP when there was more time to fire (or get one-time setups). Normally a shot rate increase is coupled with a shooting percentage decrease (larger denominator), but the reason Willy's scoring more is because fewer shots are getting blocked or missing the net. It's never been in his game to fire empty calorie wristers from the top of the circles, but Willy has gotten even more selective with shooting as well and found a couple of sweet spots for his linemates to find him regularly.
2) Net Front Ninja
The shots are coming from right in the home plate (danger zone). This speaks to the confidence Tavares mentioned at the top: confidence to get to the dirty ice, and confidence to pull the trigger. They're a healthy mix of cycle setups and rush chances.
Nylander is a net front ninja. It first started when the Leafs compacted their PP units into one and Nylander found himself playing net front. He got swoll the previous season, and he got lots of reps requiring quick hands inside contact. He translated it to 5v5 play by using his edgework and now heavier body to take the puck to the slot more and more frequently, but in a non-traditional net front way: arriving with the puck, not parking there and taking abuse.
https://twitter.com/RinkRatReport/status/1723198197533724877
He's no longer just waiting for linemates to give him the puck either.
The Leafs have only two players who can boast being legitimate one-man attackers that are the complete package of mobility, ice awareness, effective physicality on the boards, playmaking ability, and shooting prowess. These are the players you want to hang on to for as long as possible. All those previous skills he developed over the years--weaving through the NZ as a youth, quick hands in tight, claiming his space in dirty ice--have coalesced into what Willy is today: a finesse power forward.
dappleganger
Active member
CarltonTheBear said:
If Cowan can't outscore a defensemen that's not a good sign.
Frank E
Active member
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
I'm not sure there's anything more boring than watching those Leafs Blueprint things with the hockey players...the players are the most boring bunch on the planet. I think Joe Thornton was the only good time guy I've seen on the tube in years!
L K
Active member
Good to see that Klingberg has been sitting out the last few practices. Supports that he is actually hurt. Makes it a bit questionable why he played against Vancouver though. Hopefully its a fixable problem and he can become a useful asset...even if only to be used as part of a trade.
Terrible Klingberg is just going to cost money to flip. But if he can play well for a stretch, he could be a good asset to use in a 3-team trade to upgrade the blueline.
Terrible Klingberg is just going to cost money to flip. But if he can play well for a stretch, he could be a good asset to use in a 3-team trade to upgrade the blueline.
louisstamos
Active member
Arn said:
I'm so happy for you.
dappleganger
Active member
Arn said:
