Maple Leafs' William Nylander Finally Shares His Honest Take on Pressure in Toronto
Photo credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images
William Nylander speaks on the pressure that comes with playing in Toronto, and how the locker room feels is needed to win.
Speaking to 'The Fourth Period', William Nylander expressed candidly his views on the team's leadership, and the pressure that members of the Toronto Maple Leafs, including himself, have faced with playing in such a visible and prominent media market, arguably the largest in the NHL.
Nylander, who has spent his entire 10-year career as a Toronto Maple Leaf, understands better than just near anyone the mental fortitude needed to succeed in Toronto and to drown on the noise that at times can become inescapable.
What Nylander Said About Handling Toronto's Pressure
On 'The Fourth Period', Nylander spoke on the pressure in the Leafs dressing room, and provided an inside glimpse at how the team handles the noise coming from outside.
I think people forget that we as players also want to win..,I mean, I think we have our goal to want to go all the way.
Been playing there for a while, but I don't know, I don't really think about what other people say or what their opinion is, whatever, on how we're playing. We inside the locker room know what we need to do.
It's not an easy battle, you've got to appreciate the grind it takes to get there for when you eventually get to that point.
Been playing there for a while, but I don't know, I don't really think about what other people say or what their opinion is, whatever, on how we're playing. We inside the locker room know what we need to do.
It's not an easy battle, you've got to appreciate the grind it takes to get there for when you eventually get to that point.
It's both a rare look from a player on how the Leafs look to avoid the noise and their focus being on elsewhere, but also a point of keeping the focus on the game at hand, and having to drown any sort of buzz coming from fans and media that distract from doing their job on the ice.
Both the fans and media of the Leafs are known both in, and outside Toronto as some of the loudest on social media, with it regular to have the team at the forefront of most national hockey discussion, especially across Canada. Many of the Canadian NHL cities have to still rival Toronto for relevancy in their own city.
Nylander, however, seems focused on winning and making sure the team has a strong mentality, and not influenced by what's being said by outside voices unrelated to the roster and staff.
Why His Comments Matter for the Maple Leafs' Upcoming Season
William Nylander's comments are incredibly important to hear as the Toronto Maple Leafs head into what will be a very talked about season for them coming up.
A lot of the conversation to start the year will ultimately focus on the one player not there for Toronto, Mitch Marner, and how the Leafs manage to work their lineup without their longtime winger, and how players like Nylander and Auston Matthews will step up.
Constantly pointed to as a problem by many in the media and some Leafs fans, Marner had paid attention to what was said about him by those outside the team, and the consistent negative press ultimately caught up and played a part in his exit, whether or not stuff said was accurate or not.
There won't be a minute where the Leafs play won't be scrutinized under the lens of what's going right, what's going wrong, what needs to change, and what they need to keep doing, but Nylander has made it clear, none of that is seeping into the locker room this year.
Nylander gives a positive outlook that the locker room isn't going to be too concerned about what fans or media have to say that impacts the time, and the team's focus is lying on what they can do to win, and not be distracted by anything else not related to what they do on the ice.
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