Maple Leafs Star Wins Top Swedish Award

Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander is coming off another outstanding season, as he scored 45 goals (a career-high) and 84 points in 82 games.

A season like that is more than worthy of recognition, not just from the NHL, but from back home.

Over the weekend, Nylander received the Guldpucken (the Golden Puck), annually awarded to the top Swedish hockey player as voted on by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association and the newspaper Expressen. It's the first time Nylander has won the award, which has been awarded since 1956 and expanded to include NHL players in 2015.

Michael Nylander, William's father, informed him that he won the award.

“It’s a very special feeling,” William Nylander told Expressen (translation via the Toronto Sun). “It’s perhaps a goal you’ve always had in the back of your mind, to try to be Sweden’s best player. I appreciate that you chose me for it because we have so many good Swedish hockey players.”

William Nylander, 29, was technically not born in Sweden, but rather in Canada while his father was playing for the Calgary Flames. However, he is a dual citizen in Sweden and Canada and represents Sweden internationally.

“Look he might be the biggest spark we have on the team,” said Sam Hallam, Sweden's head coach at February's 4 Nations Face-Off. “Just watch him play. His individual skills are on display on a nightly basis.

“But he’s much more than that. From what I’ve seen, he’s all about the team. He’s repetitively represented Sweden on the international stage when he’s had the chance. He cares about the team, the people on it and how much success it has.”

Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling won the Guldpucken last year after playing a key role in the team's first Stanley Cup victory. Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson has won the award three times, the most of any player, while Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman has won it twice.

Notable players to win the award before it included NHL players include Peter Forsberg, Daniel and Henrik Sedin and Henrik Lundqvist.