Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Team Sweden has made their decision regarding William Nylander’s status ahead of the team’s first game of the Olympic preliminary round against Italy.
As the men’s ice hockey portion of the Olympics kicks off on Wednesday, Maple Leafs fans are going to be able to get a glimpse of their stars as William Nylander and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are set to take the ice.
Nylander suspected to play; later confirmed to be in the lineup
While it isn’t concrete that he’s in the game, it does look like a positive sign going forward according to two sources.
Elliotte Friedman and Luke Fox both commented on the fact that that Nylander would be a game-time decision as Team Sweden takes a look at the potential severity of the injury:
Nylander skated with the first power-play unit and all signs pointed to him playing, and now we can confirm as such.
According to Henrik Sjoberg — Nylander is in while making another surprising change:
Friedman later confirmed this an hour before game-time:
It’s great news for both Sweden and the Toronto Maple Leafs knowing that Nylander avoided serious injury and that he can come in and help guide the Tre Kronor to a strong start to the men’s tournament.
Nylander has been fantastic this season, putting up 52 points in 40 games (18 goals, 34 assists) but has missed a fair bit of the season with various injuries which made this latest report all the more nail-biting.
But for now, it looks like Nylander is healthy enough to go, and Sweden will need every bit of his energy and talent to not only come away with a win, but to set themselves on the right path towards Olympic gold.
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Team Sweden makes the final call on William Nylander after evaluation
Did Team Sweden make the right decision regarding William Nylander?