The Toronto Maple Leafs top prospect and, perhaps the best drafted prospect league wide not currently playing in the NHL, William Nylander, has been reassigned from his Swedish club, Modo, to the organizations AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.
It's a big step in the process for the electrifying and talented young Swede and could signal his pending ascension to the big club - in due time.
Hockey Central tweeted about midday Monday that the 18 year old Nylander won't be joining the team this season and that their plan is to be patient with his development.
But it's a development that may not take that much longer and one that, despite the team's protestations, they could be planning for later this season.
As Craig Custance of ESPN notes, Nylander, while playing in Toronto as part of the Swedish team in the recent World Junior Championships, showed much more than the requisite NHL skill-level. He also displayed the type of personality adept at dealing with and embracing the pressure of playing in front of the fans of and hopefully, eventually for, the storied and currently frustrated organization that drafted him.
"Hopefully, one day I'll be able to play here," he said, per Custance. "I've signed a lot of autographs. It's amazing."
Nylander helped an under-manned Swedish team go undefeated in pool play despite finishing a somewhat disappointing fourth-overall in the tournament. He led the team in scoring and finished with 10 points overall.
For a failing Modo squad this season, Nylander had eight goals and 12 assists in 21 games.
His reassignment has been explained away as the franchise simply wanting the youngster to learn the tighter, more physical North American game.
The move, combined with the Leafs rumored interest in upgrading their scoring depth at the NHL level, has some, including Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star, wondering if Nylander won't be with the big club sooner rather than later.
"The Leafs are in the market for a Top-6 forward, and Nylander fits that bill while the rest of the Marlies don't," McGran wrote. "When guys like Joffrey Lupul and Nazem Kadri get hurt, the Marlies haven't been able to provide players who can step into those top-two-line roles."
With Connor Brown not quite ready for the big club and the franchise showing little faith in Josh Leivo, it's fair to wonder if, with this move, the team isn't tipping its hand on their unspoken plan to promote Nylander - a prospect they promised to be patient with - sooner than they really should.