Maple Leafs’ William Nylander to join Sweden for World Championship playoffs
One of the co-hosts in one of international hockey’s biggest events is getting a little extra help heading into the knockout stage.
On Wednesday, it was announced that Toronto Maple Leafs winger William Nylander will be heading overseas to join Sweden for the final round of the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship.
Välkommen till Tre Kronor, William Nylander 🔥🔥🔥
William ansluter till laget under dagen och är spelklar till kvartsfinalen mot Tjeckien ✅ pic.twitter.com/7yGoDjWAzB
Nylander was available to join his country in the event after the Maple Leafs’ season came to an end this past Sunday, losing to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the Atlantic Division Final.
While his NHL team failed to meet expectations again, Nylander was undoubtedly one of the team’s top players. He led the Toronto roster in scoring during the playoffs, notching six goals and 15 points in 13 games. He and Mitch Marner were the only players on the roster to average a point per game in the postseason.
Nylander will be donning the blue and yellow for the second time this year. In February, he was an alternate captain for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, registering two assists in three games as the Swedes finished third with a 1-0-2 record.
The 4 Nations was the Calgary-born’s first set of international hockey since the 2022 world championship. Nylander will be competing at the Men’s Worlds for the fourth time in his career. Nylander led Tre Kronor to the gold medal over Canada in 2017, earning tournament MVP honors after leading the event in goals with seven.
Just two years later, he had another stellar performance on the world stage. In the 2019 tournament, Nylander led the tournament in assists (13) and points (18), and was named to the All-Tournament Team for the second time in three years. However, Tre Kronor was stunned by Finland, in overtime, in the quarterfinals.
In addition to his experience in the senior national tournament, Nylander has represented Sweden at the 2012 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge and the 2013 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He has also played for his country twice at the IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship and the IIHF World Junior Championship.
Sweden lost to Canada in the group stage finale on Tuesday, leading to the team finishing second in Group A. They will face Czechia in the quarters on Thursday, hoping to punch their ticket to the semifinals for the second year in a row.