Nylander excited for opportunity to play in Sweden as part of Global Series

TORONTO -- When William Nylander left for his beloved Sweden on Monday, he did so as a Toronto Maple Leafs record holder and the NHL’s third star of the week.

Not a bad way to return to a country that still tugs at his heartstrings.

“I never really dreamed that I’d get to play NHL games over there, and now it’s going to happen,” Nylander told NHL.com. “I mean, you never think about a scenario like that, and now it’s about to come to life.

“It’s going to be very special.”

Much like his first month of the season.

On a team featuring stars such as forwards Mitchell Marner, Auston Matthews and John Tavares, and defenseman Morgan Rielly, it has instead been Nylander who has been the best player for the Maple Leafs (8-5-2). He leads the team with 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) during a 15-game point streak, which is the longest to begin a season in Toronto history.

Now, he’ll attempt to extend that impressive run in front of friends and family at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, where the Maple Leafs will play the Detroit Red Wings on Friday (2 p.m. ET; BSDET, NHL, TSN4) and Minnesota Wild on Sunday (8 a.m. ET; BSWIX, BSN, NHLN, SNO) as part of the 2023 NHL Global Series presented by Fastenal.

“I think we're all super excited to go back to Sweden with friends and family and stuff,” Nylander said. “I mean, I have some friends and family that haven't been able to make it over to watch a game, so I think that'd be very special for them to see that.

“And, of course, all the people in Sweden can now watch some NHL hockey games at a decent hour there. Obviously, with games in North America, the games start at like 1 a.m. there, so not a lot of kids can watch those games.

“I think this is an important chance to show them NHL hockey.”

Although Nylander has citizenship in Sweden, he was actually born in Calgary and spent many of his younger years in North America while his dad, Michael, played in the NHL. Michael had 679 points (209 goals, 470 assists) in 920 games with the Hartford Whalers, Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning, Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers before finishing his career back in Washington, where he retired in 2009.

During his final two years with the Capitals, Michael took a young Swedish forward under his wing, a promising player named Nicklas Backstrom. When Backstrom visited the Nylander household, he would get into heated table tennis matches against William and his siblings, Alex and Jacqueline.

“They were so competitive when they were kids,” Backstrom said. “I remember it all, including those Ping-Pong games. They were a little too young to beat me at the time.”

A few years later, though, in 2013, William had grown and got to live out a fantasy by playing with his dad for several weeks with Sodertalje SK of HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden's second league.

"It was a blast," William said. "Not a lot of people get to experience that."

Michael agreed.

“It was quite amazing,” he said. “We would go to practice together, we were roommates a few times. We were linemates on the ice, father and son off it. You never dream that you’ll one day actually be playing on the same line with your son.”

By 2016, William was playing for the Maple Leafs, who selected him with the No. 8 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, and Alex, a forward like his brother, was playing for Rochester, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres, who selected him with the No. 8 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.

In order to watch both of his sons play, Michael would set up a TV on one side and a laptop on the other at his family's home in Sweden well after midnight.

“They still do that,” William said with a laugh.

Besides the chance to return home and play in front of family, this week has an added significance for Nylander.

A student of the game, Nylander is more than aware of the impact the late Borje Salming had in opening the doors to the NHL for Swedish players when he joined the Maple Leafs in 1973 for the start of what would be a Hall of Fame career.

In honor of that, the NHL Alumni Association created the Borje Salming Courage Award, which will be awarded to Detroit Red Wings Hall of Fame defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom on Thursday.

Nylander said he remembers one memorable meeting with Salming in Sweden.

"We were just going from one bar to the next bar, and he was walking somewhere, too, and we ran into each other,” Nylander recalled. “I don't know, it was like one or two in the morning and he's like, 'Let's go to this place.' And then we went to that place.

“I mean, he went all night. It was special. He was a very special guy and he would always take care of all the other Swedes.”

This time around, it will be Nylander's job to take care of his Maple Leafs teammates and show them around.

“I guess 'Willie' will be our tour guide,” Tavares said.

“Whatever happens, it’s going to be fun.”