Most improved Maple Leaf William Nylander has raised his ceiling

William Nylander has reached career-high figures in both goals and points this year. The Maple Leafs Swedish forward picked up the slack when Auston Matthews was struggling to find the net early in the season, impressing with both his skill and will.

Video Transcript

OMAR: Every year, a player wants to be better. They want to be better than how they were the last season. And I think when it comes down to this season, regardless of whether you're talking about a role player or a star player, I do believe that William Nylander deserves the most improved player award.

I mean, right from the beginning of the season, when Auston Matthews wasn't generating that much offense, William Nylander was. There were several overtime winners that Nylander ended on his own in the same way, stealing the puck from the opposition, heading down the ice, and scoring with skill. But it had nothing to do with just the skill.

There was the will and the effort and the anger. How many times did you see William Nylander look actively mad? There was a play where he literally hit someone in the shoulder. It looked like he high-sticked him in the face.

So overall, William Nylander just looked different. He looked like he hit another gear this year, so much so that he's hitting career highs. So when it comes to the overall performance, the overall tableau, if you will, William Nylander has been the most improved Leaf this year. And it'll be interesting to see if he gets even better from here.