The Toronto Maple Leafs stuck to their guns on Friday night, selecting the highly touted forward/centre William Nylander from Sweden with their 8th overall selection in the 2014 NHL Draft. Toronto was rumoured to be in the mix for Florida's number one pick, but nothing came to fruition as the dominoes fell where many expected them too leading up to their pick.

For Toronto, they get a very skilled, young talent who adds to their prospect pool. The knock on the Leafs the past few seasons has been their inability to draft and develop top end talent, something they have improved the last few years by drafting defenceman Morgan Rielly in 2012, and Nylander this year. 

It's also the first time Toronto has taken a European in the first round since 2006 when they drafted Jiri Tlusty from the Czech Republic, 13th overall. General Manager Dave Nonis and company did exactly what many believed they should do, which is take the best player available and many scouts say Nylander could potentially have one of, if not the highest ceiling of any forward in the draft this year. 

Nylander, who was born in Calgary but raised in Stockholm, is listed as 5"11 and around 180 pounds and is regarded as having elite playmaking skills as well as top end speed. He played with MODO last year and registered seven points in 22 games, and 27 points over 35 games with Sodertalje SK and Rogle BK of Hockey Allsvenskan over the span of the 2013-14 season. The knock on his game so far has been his unwillingness to include his teammates, and at times holding onto the puck too much. Maturity has also come into question a little bit.

Regardless, Nylander represents a very solid adition to a Maple Leafs team who lacked a spark in their system. While the youth in their defensive core has improved with the adds of Rielly, Stuart Percy, Matt Finn, Petter Granberg and Jake Gardiner to name a few, Toronto needed a flashy offensive prospect and they get just that in Nylander. Whether or not the 18 year old plays in the NHL next year, the Buds have to be happy with this selection, who will certainly be an important piece to their future. 

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About the author
Lucas Casaletto
Journalism Print graduate and current Journalism Broadcast. Sports is my passion. Twitter: @LucasCasaletto