Leafs Winger William Nylander Reveals Who His Primary Linemate Will Be At 4 Nations Face-Off

Nylander, along with Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and Jani Hakanpaa, were each named to their respective country's teams for the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this week.

Marner will represent Canada, Matthews the United States, Nylander for Sweden and, surprisingly, the injured Hakanpaa was named and will represent Finland.

Following the announcement of teams, Nylander revealed that the Swedish management and coaching staff had discussed at length with him about playing alongside New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad.

Nylander has once again gotten off to an excellent start, living up to his 8-year extension, which he signed back in January. Thus far, he has registered 16 goals and 27 points in 26 games.

Zibanejad, like the Rangers however, has struggled so far this season with inconsistency. The 31-year-old has just 5 goals and 18 points in 24 games and has been highly criticized for his lack of work ethic away from the puck.

Although both have played for Sweden multiple times internationally, this will be the first time the two represent their country at the same time. Pairing Nylander with Zibanejad would give the two some familiarity in terms of the play styles they are used to.

Zibanejad typically has a shooter in Chris Kreider or Artemi Panarin on his flank and that's what Nylander is.

On the other side, Nylander is used to having a center that can do both in terms of shooting and making plays. Both Auston Matthews and John Tavares like to shoot the puck, but have the hands to make plays. Zibanejad shares this trait.

It remains to be seen who will play on their opposite flank, but I'd have to imagine that Filip Forsberg will receive some consideration.