William Nylander's Wish Fulfilled by Head Coach Craig Berube After Early-Season Meeting

Earlier this season, William Nylander pleaded with head coach Craig Berube for more minutes. This request showed Nylander's passion and ability to pull extra duty on any given night.

Craig Berube is granting him the chance to play and speaking to Luke Fox of Sportsnet, he thinks it's the key to his success.

If William Nylander had to prove that he deserved more ice time, then he's doing his best job. Leading the team with 14 goals, Nylander is trying to show Toronto they didn't waste money on an eight-year extension.

What's improved for Nylander is his defense, and while he's not Patrice Bergeron, he's more than capable. Always active with his stick, Nylander tries to use his speed and deceptiveness to disrupt opponents and lead to goals like these:

His advanced metrics are fantastic too. Toronto is controlling the puck more and scoring a lot more with Nylander on the ice.

Since Auston Matthews' absence, Nylander has 5 goals and 11 points (the same season total as Matthews) and is a key reason for Toronto's current 7-2-0 streak.

Nylander signed his eight-year extension last January, and will look to cement himself as one of the greatest Leafs to ever put on the blue and white. For his career, he has 231 goals and 321 assists in 625 games and is also coming off back-to-back 40-goal seasons.

His minutes increase hasn't bothered him, and he's he's averaging almost a minute and a half more this season compared to his career average.

Playing nearly 20 minutes a night, scoring at a torrid pace, and trying to improve his two-way game, the future seems as bright as the sun for Nylander.

In closing, William Nylander's request for more ice time was granted by Craig Berube because Nylander proved himself as not only a star in the NHL but a crucial part of Toronto's success and he deserves to be on the ice more.