Nylander brothers add to strong rivalry
Sabres fans love to hate the Leafs, so drafting Alexander Nylander right up their alley
The gauntlet was thrown down on the draft floor: Alexander Nylander declared he had better hair than his brother, William.
“Better hair? He said that?” says William Nylander. “I don’t know about that. I think I’ve had a better hair game this year. We’ll see what the fans think.”
There is now a sibling rivalry to go along with the geographic rivalry between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres. Alex was picked eighth by Buffalo in the June draft, coincidently the same position when the Leafs chose William in 2014.
“We always competed with each other growing up,” William Nylander said. “It will continue if we play against each other.”
The Leafs-Sabres rivalry has been somewhat dormant in recent years, partly because both teams in recent seasons seemed to care more about draft position than winning.
Sabres fans see the Leafs as a main rival, up there with Boston and the Rangers in their books. Sabres fans are gleeful that Buffalo routinely clobbers the Leafs in the regular sea- son. The Sabres own a 41-20-4 record over Toronto in the last decade, made all the more delicious for Buffalo fans considering half their building can be filled with dejected Leaf fans.
The rivalry is not deeper in part because of the one-sided relationship in terms of winning and losing, as well as the fact the two teams have played each other a grand total of one time in the playoffs, a 4-1 Sabres triumph in the 1999 Eastern Conference final.
But the rivalry should spice up in the coming years.
Some Sabres fans haven’t forgiven Mike Babcock for choosing to coach the Leafs over them.
The two teams are hoping to revive their fortunes the same way — building from within — on roughly the same timeline.
The core of young players on each team know each other well: Leafs’ top pick Auston Matthews is friends with Sabres centrepiece Jack Eichel.
And now the Nylanders, who are as known almost as much for their flowing blond locks as much as their ability to make plays. William is more Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic. Alex is DiCaprio in The Great Gatsby, but on his way to a mullet.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun playing against my brother,” Alex said the night he was drafted. “We’ll be friends, of course. We’re really close to each other. We’d just enjoy every moment playing against each other.”
William Nylander said he was excited the Leafs drafted Matthews. He said he’d be happy to start the season as Matthews’ right winger.
“Wherever the coach feels like he wants me to play,” said William.