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The Meteoric Rise of Alexander Nylander

Originally posted on Inside The Rink | By Lance Schrock | Last updated 3/18/24

During a season, many NHL records will be broken, and new ones will be set. Some are personal, franchise, or league-wide records. The Columbus Blue Jackets have broken several previous records this year, although the records have not been very positive. They currently lead the league in having the most games lost where they were previously leading (24). The Jackets also passed their franchise record of an 8-game loss streak when they lost nine games straight in November. There have been some positives though, team Captain Boone Jenner surpassed Rick Nash in most games played for the franchise and is setting a new record every game. He is currently at 710 games. Zach Werenski recorded his fifth multi-goal game while passing Seth Jones (4) for the most assists by a Blue Jackets defenseman. With all that considered, one player who has recently broken records is standing out from the rest.

Alexander Nylander

Like his brother William, Alex Nylander was born in Canada but has played for Sweden in international competitions. Nylander was selected 8th overall in the 2016 NHL draft by the Buffalo Sabres, and his first NHL game was April 3, 2017. After going back and forth between the AHL and NHL, he found some sustained NHL ice time when he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks and played a career-high 65 NHL games. After an injury caused him to miss the entire 2020-21 season, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins and has spent the majority of his time on their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Nylander was recently acquired in a trade along with a conditional 6th-round draft pick from the Pittsburgh Penguins for former Blue Jacket Emil Bemstrom. Bemstrom had 32 games played this season with 5 goals and 6 assists. The condition for the pick is if he gets 6 goals for the Penguins the rest of this season it becomes a 3rd round pick. So far Emil has 12 games played with 1 goal, 2 assists, and 16 games left in the season.

Before joining Columbus, Nylander had played 93 games in the NHL with 14 goals and 20 assists over five seasons. This season, he had split his time between the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Pittsburgh and had only played 5 NHL games in the 2024 season.

LET THE HATS FLY!#CBJ ALEX NYLANDER NETS HIS FIRST CAREER HAT TRICK! pic.twitter.com/SrPMS1HRWw
— CBJectively Speaking (@CBJectivelyPod) March 5, 2024

Since joining the Columbus Blue Jackets, Alex Nylander has gone on a hot streak and has scored eight goals and has three assists in 12 games. He is now the record-holder for most goals and overall points scored by a player in their first 12 games with the franchise. He also recorded his first NHL hat trick in only his fifth game as a Blue Jacket in a 6-3 win against the Vegas Golden Knights. In a recent win against the San Jose Sharks, Nylander scored two goals and recorded an assist for another multi-point game. He has also been slotted into the top line for the Blue Jackets. Head coach Pascal Vincent said that Nylander is not only a skilled skater but also “Has a good brain, and he can read the game offensively and defensively.

When asked about being put on the first line, Alex says, “I think we’ve had really good chemistry”. He also said that he feels like he’s been working hard for the past two years to get into the NHL and is taking advantage of every moment. Nylander is a restricted free agent after this season and questions of a new contract are already starting. Alex Nylander may very well be a part of the future success of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“It’s been a really big opportunity and I’m really happy that they took a chance on me and it’s been going great so I just gotta keep it up.”
Alex Nylander