Laud Stanley hails Alex
Entering the middle day of Blackhawks development camp Wednesday, general manager Stan Bowman already had identified four players standing out above the rest: Alex Nylander, Kirby Dach, Adam Boqvist and Ian Mitchell.
That’s not a particularly surprising foursome, but Bowman’s explicitness was intriguing, and he went on to shower praise, especially on Nylander, the Hawks’ hotly debated, recently acquired forward.
Nylander cancelled a planned vacation on short notice to attend camp, even though most of his teammates have yet to make a professional appearance, much less play three years in the AHL and NHL like he has. That’s an encouraging piece of counter-evidence to his reputation for motor and motivation issues.
“He’s a big kid — almost 200 pounds — so his physical strength is there,’’ Bowman said. ‘‘Now it’s just trying to put it all together. He wants to learn. He’s been asking questions, talking to the coaches, listening to what they have to say and trying to incorporate it in the drills. I’ve found him to be coachable, and I think he’s excited.”
Bowman indicated the Sabres’ placement of Nylander in the AHL as an 18-year-old might have hurt his development, as he had to focus all his training on matching the muscle mass and physicality of his late-20s opponents rather than refining his offensive skills.
He nevertheless has taken significant strides in the past year, Bowman said.