Powered by Roundtable
davidalter@THN profile imagefeatured creator badge
David Alter
Nov 10, 2023
Partner

Matthews was asked if he'd ever follow Nylander's lead in 'riding the 'Rocket' to games.

The Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman has struggled through his first 13 games of the season. Head coach Sheldon Keefe says the player is injured and working through some things.

William Nylander caught the attention of many Toronto Maple Leafs fans when a photo of him riding the TTC subway before his team's game against the Ottawa Senators circulated online.

Nylander later explained that it wasn't the first time he's actually taken the subway games. Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews was asked about if he'd ever follow Nylander's lead. 

“I usually like to give myself enough time to get to the rink," Matthews said with a big smile. "I don't know if he's in the same category there."

Nylander's gameday habits have certainly grabbed his teammates' attention before. Former Maple Leaf Jason Spezza said it would give him anxiety to see how little time Nylander gave himself to put on his gear before the team's warmup started.

"I think the weekday games, he'll find himself on the subway every once in a while. But I don't blame him, I mean, it's probably better than sitting in traffic for an extended period of time."

Whatever Nylander is doing for gamedays, it has certainly been working this season. He recorded a goal and assists in Toronto's 6-3 loss to the Senators and extended his franchise-record points streak to start a season to 18 games. An unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, Nylander's 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) only trails Matthews for the team lead (19 points).

Related

News from THN.com