Maple Leafs Head Coach Craig Berube Shares Hot Take on William Nylander
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro - Imagn Images
William Nylander is second only to Leon Draisaitl in the Rocket Richard Trophy race, but Craig Berube is confident that he can add to his trophy cabinet this year.
Entering the 2024-25 season, many pundits had pegged Auston Matthews as the favourite to reclaim the Rocket Richard Trophy. There were other names mentioned in the conversation, but it's safe to say that William Nylander was generally not a part of the discussion.
The 28-year-old Swede has been nothing short of fantastic this season for the Toronto Maple Leafs as he's collected 33 goals in just 53 games, which is good for second in the NHL behind only Leon Draisaitl out of Edmonton.
Nylander's hat-trick against Calgary on Tuesday propelled him past the likes of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Sam Reinhart. Draisaitl is at the top with 38, which is a daunting task to chase down, but head coach Craig Berube is confident in his star player's abilities.
As reported by Nick Barden of The Hockey News, Berube was asked about Nylander's game this season and whether or not he has a chance at claiming the Rocket Richard trophy for the first time in his career. Berube believes Nylander does indeed have a chance.
"I mean, this guy gets chances every game, and good ones. I mean, he's world-class, in my opinion, with his shot, his speed, his agility. He does a lot of really good things. I mean, whether he wins it or not, I don't know. But, he's doing a lot of good things every night that gives him an opportunity to."
He was then asked about his relationship with Nylander and what their conversations are like:
"I think those high-end players, skilled players, they see the game differently, and definitely differently than me. But they always float ideas around, and I like that. I mean, I think they should come and tell me what they're thinking and why they did this or why they did that. I want to know. And I may not agree with it all the time, but they definitely think the game differently."
At the very least Nylander is well on his way of smashing his previous career-high of 40 goals that he set in both 2022-23 and 2023-24 in 82 games.
Draisaitl will be hard to catch, but Nylander has been playing on a different level this year and has all the capabilities to contend with the German sniper, who is also looking for his first Rocket Richard Trophy of his career.
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