The gauntlet was thrown down on the draft floor: Alexander Nylander declared he had better hair than his brother, William.
鈥淏etter hair? He said that?鈥 says William Nylander. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know about that. I think I鈥檝e had a better hair game this year. We鈥檒l see what the fans think.鈥
There is now a sibling rivalry to go along with the geographic rivalry between the 海角社区官网Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres. Alex was picked eighth by Buffalo in the June draft, coincidently the same position when the Leafs chose William in 2014.
鈥淲e always competed with each other growing up,鈥 William Nylander said. 鈥淚t will continue if we play against each other.鈥
The Leafs-Sabres rivalry has been somewhat dormant in recent years, partly because both teams in recent seasons seemed to care more about draft position than winning.
Leaf fans may not consider Buffalo a true hockey rival, pointing more quickly to Montreal, Ottawa and Detroit.
But Sabres fans see the Leafs as a main rival, up there with Boston and the Rangers in their books. Sabres fans are gleeful that Buffalo routinely clobbers the Leafs in the regular season. The Sabres own a 41-20-4 record over 海角社区官网in the last decade, made all the more delicious for Buffalo fans considering half their building can be filled with dejected Leaf fans.
The rivalry is not deeper in part because of the one-sided relationship in terms of winning and losing, as well as the fact the two teams have played each other a grand total of one time in the playoffs, a 4-1 Sabres triumph in the 1999 Eastern Conference final.
But the rivalry should spice up in the coming years.
- Some Sabres fans haven鈥檛 forgiven Mike Babcock for choosing to coach the Leafs when they believed he was in their fold.
- The two teams are hoping to revive their fortunes the same way 鈥 building from within 鈥 on roughly the same timeline.
- The core of young players on each team know each other well: Leafs top pick Auston Matthews is friends with Sabres centrepiece Jack Eichel.
And now the Nylanders, who are as known almost as much for their flowing blond locks as much as their ability to make plays. William is more Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic. Alex is DiCaprio in The Great Gatsby, but on his way to a mullet.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a lot of fun playing against my brother,鈥 Alex said the night he was drafted. 鈥淲e鈥檒l be friends, of course. We鈥檙e really close to each other. I don鈥檛 think it would affect anything like that. We鈥檇 just enjoy every moment playing against each other.鈥
William Nylander said he was excited that the Leafs drafted Auston Matthews. He said he鈥檇 be happy to start the season as Matthews鈥 right winger.
鈥淲herever the coach feels like he wants me to play,鈥 said William. 鈥淚 can play centre, I can play wing. I played wing in the playoffs a little bit this year. Wherever I play, I鈥檒l be playing well.鈥
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