Alex
Nylander
L · CGY · Offensive · Around average
- PAL
- 51
- WAR
- 0.4
- Value
- 67
- PTS
- 15
2023-24№ 253 / 608
Alex Nylander (Calgary Flames) stats and profile: offensive production, ice time, advanced stats, WAR and PAL rating.
Alex Nylander
#93L
Calgary Flames
HEIGHT : 185 cm · WEIGHT : 93 kg · SHOOTS : R
Born : March 1, 1998 · Calgary, Canada
Drafted : 2016 · BUF · round 1, pick #8
Contract : $850,000 · 2026-27 → 2026-27 · Two-Way Contract · UFA
NHL record
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2023-24 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 23 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 6 |
| 2023-24 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022-23 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 2019-20 | Chicago Blackhawks | 65 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 10 |
| 2018-19 | Buffalo Sabres | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 2017-18 | Buffalo Sabres | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016-17 | Buffalo Sabres | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| NHL totals | 126 | 25 | 24 | 49 | 30 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Chicago Blackhawks | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Playoff totals | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
Alex Nylander: our analysis
2023-24 season: 23 GP, 11 G, 4 A, 15 PTS, -1 +/-, 16:46 TOI. WAR 0.4 (253rd of 608) · PAL 51, around average.
In 2023-24, Alex Nylander, 28, posts a PAL Rating of 51 out of 100 (around average), and his WAR of 0.4 ranks 253rd among 608 regulars, in the top half.
His strengths: creation (88, among the best in the league) and shooting (79, well above average). On the other hand, penalty kill (26, below average) and defense (30, below average) hold him back.
Breaking down his WAR (goals above average), his biggest contribution: EV offense (+0.5).
His WAR went from 0.0 in 2022-23 to 0.4.
Contract-wise, his Value score of 67 (good value) weighs his output against what he costs: 50 is what that salary should buy.
Alex Nylander's story
Born in Calgary while his father was still playing professionally, Alex Nylander's upbringing was split between North America and Sweden, summers spent back in Scandinavia and seasons following his father's path through junior systems. That bi-continental childhood shaped his skating and offensive instincts.
After a season in Sweden's junior ranks, Nylander was chosen 12th in the CHL Import Draft by the Mississauga Steelheads. He moved to the OHL for 2015–16, playing close to his brother and finishing the year as the leading rookie scorer with 75 points in 57 games, earning the league's rookie award and national recognition among CHL first-year players.
Picked eighth overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by Buffalo, he signed an entry-level deal and began his professional career primarily with Rochester in the AHL, with periodic recalls to the Sabres. Trades carried him through Chicago and Pittsburgh before a move to Columbus in February 2024, where he notched his first NHL hat trick and closed that stretch with a personal best in goals over just 23 games.
Internationally, Nylander has represented Sweden at the World Junior level, finishing as one of his team's top scorers in 2016 and helping Sweden to a silver medal in 2018 with six assists in seven games. Those tournaments underscored his playmaking strengths on the world stage.
On the ice he is best described as an offensively-minded forward: a playmaker with a hard, reliable shot and the creativity expected of a high draft pick. After several seasons split between the NHL and AHL, he remained within the Toronto organization, signing with the Toronto Marlies and continuing to pursue a steady role at the top level.
Facts drawn from Wikipédia, told in our own words.
Advanced stats
- TOI/GP
- 9:53
- PP TOI/GP
- 1:38
- SH TOI/GP
- 0:00
- Pts/GP
- 0.00
- EV points
- 0
- Hits
- 0
- Blocks
- 0
- Takeaways
- 1
- Corsi % (SAT)
- 47.6 %
- Off. zone starts
- 33.3 %
- Faceoffs
- 75.0 %
Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)
2026-27 projection
Projected points
4between 0 and 15 (80% range)
- Goals
- 2
- Assists
- 1
- Games
- 7
So far: 0 pts in 0 games. The team has played 18 of 84 games. Projected pace: 0.50 pts per game.
The projection follows last season's pace. Tested on 2,265 player seasons (2022-23 to 2025-26): average miss of 9 points over 82 games; for players at 0.9 points per game and up, it ran 5 points high on average.
This is only a projection. It knows nothing about injuries, trades or role changes; one player in five finishes outside the range.
Player ratings, 2023-24
All ratings →Fourteen ratings from 0 to 100 drawn from data, never by hand: 75 = established NHL player, 95+ = elite.
OV · OverallConfidence 35 %
73
Established NHL
- SK
- Skating
- 69
- Confidence 57 %
- ST
- Strength
- 74
- Confidence 41 %
- EN
- Endurance
- 74
- Confidence 50 %
- DU
- Durability
- 45
- Confidence 57 %
- CK
- Checking
- 67
- Confidence 41 %
- FG
- Fighting
- 79
- Confidence 19 %
- DI
- Discipline
- 74
- Confidence 41 %
- FO
- Faceoffs
- —
- PA
- Passing
- 68
- Confidence 35 %
- SC
- Scoring
- 82
- Confidence 35 %
- DF
- Defense
- 69
- Confidence 31 %
- PS
- Penalty shot
- 65
- Confidence 8 %
- EX
- Experience
- 62
- Confidence 100 %
Why these ratings?Hide details
SK — Skating69
- Top speed (35 %)35.4 · 67
- Bursts > 20 mph /60 (30 %)4.825 · 74
- Distance /60 (20 %)15.7 · 71
- Speed consistency (15 %)35 · 69
ST — Strength74
- Contact absorbed /60 (50 %)4.265 · 72
- Body mass (50 %)0.133 · 77
EN — Endurance74
- Ice time per game (45 %)15 · 77
- Total ice time (20 %)440 · 49
- Shift length (15 %)47.8 · 82
- Lowest recent ice time per game (15 %)14.9 · 79
- Special-teams time per game (5 %)2.101 · 74
DU — Durability45
- Share of games played (100 %)0.579 · 45
CK — Checking67
- Hits /60 (70 %)3.77 · 71
- Lowest seasonal rate (20 %)3.373 · 68
- Season volume (10 %)2.565 · 46
FG — Fighting79
- Fights per 82 games (100 %)0.973 · 79
DI — Discipline74
- Net penalty value /60 (50 %)0.01 · 73
- Penalties taken /60 (30 %)0.638 · 76
- Penalties drawn /60 (20 %)0.696 · 70
PA — Passing68
- Primary assists /60 (40 %)0.521 · 64
- Secondary assists /60 (20 %)0.412 · 71
- Offensive creation (RAPM) (20 %)0.082 · 77
- Power-play points /60 (10 %)3.784 · 67
- Assist consistency (10 %)0.422 · 66
SC — Scoring82
- Goals /60 (25 %)1.168 · 84
- Individual xG /60 (20 %)1.016 · 82
- Finishing (goals − xG per shot) (20 %)0.108 · 76
- High-danger chances /60 (15 %)1.62 · 84
- xG per shot (10 %)0.08 · 79
- Shot attempts /60 (10 %)15.9 · 80
DF — Defense69
- RAPM defense /60 (35 %)-0 · 74
- Relative xG against (20 %)-0.015 · 75
- On-ice xG against /60 (15 %)2.917 · 62
- Penalty kill /60 (10 %)0.008 · 79
- Takeaways − giveaways /60 (10 %)0.095 · 71
- Shot attempts against /60 (5 %)63.6 · 53
- Blocked shots /60 (5 %)2.111 · 73
PS — Penalty shot65
- Shootouts (60 %)31.2 · 63
- Penalty shots (40 %)30.9 · 76
EX — Experience62
- Career regular-season games (65 %)68
- Career playoff games (25 %)41
- NHL seasons (10 %)75
OV — Overall73
- SC · Scoring (28 %)82
- PA · Passing (22 %)68
- DF · Defense (18 %)69
- SK · Skating (12 %)69
- EN · Endurance (8 %)74
- DI · Discipline (5 %)74
- ST · Strength (4 %)74
- CK · Checking (3 %)67
The bars show confidence (sample size), not player quality. — : not enough data, not a zero. Engine version 1.0.
WAR and PAL ratings, 2023-24
How we rate →PAL Rating scores performance from 0 to 100 against players at the same position (50 = average player), starting from the player's strength, offensive or defensive. Value Rating compares that performance with what the player costs: 50 means paid what the play is worth.
PAL Rating
51/ 100
Performance · Around average
211 of 464 at the position
Value Rating
67/ 100
Good value
0.78 M$ · expected PAL 30
ProfileOffensiveValue comes mostly from offense
- Offense
- 68
- Defense
- 28
See full detailsHide details
- Offense
- 61
- Creation
- 88
- Shooting
- 79
- Possession
- 44
- Defense
- 30
- Discipline
- 45
- Power play
- 55
- Penalty kill
- 26
From 0 to 100; 50 is the average player at the same position, adjusted for ice time.
Hockey IQ, 2023-24
Rankings and method →The quality of the player's decisions with and against the puck at 5-on-5, against regulars at the same position (50 = average). PAL measures output; IQ measures how the player plays.
Overall IQ
57/ 100
Average
better than 57% of forwards, offense and defense combined
Offensive IQ
56/ 100
Average
passing, shots, puck
Defensive IQ
54/ 100
Average
takeaways, discipline, own zone
Why 57, higher than both scores? Overall IQ isn't an average, it's a rank: 175 of 410 forwards. Few players are good at both ends at once; being so puts Alex Nylander ahead of almost everyone else.
See full detailsHide details
Offense
- Playmaking passes
- 23
- Shot selection
- 73
- Penalties drawn
- 14
- Puck management
- 91
Defense
- Takeaways
- 13
- Discipline
- 76
- Safe zone exits
- 58
Percentiles: 80 means better than 80% of regulars at the same position. Play without the puck (positioning, coverage) isn't measured: the NHL doesn't publish that data.
WAR, 2024-25
How it's calculated →Wins added to the team, compared with a replacement-level player called up from the AHL.
-0.2
wins above replacement
-0.3 to -0.1 — 90% interval
493 of 596 forwards
-0.9 goals above replacement
Full leaderboard →See full detailsHide details
- EV offense
- +0.1
- EV defense
- -0.0
- Power play
- 0.0
- Penalty kill
- 0.0
- Shooting
- -0.7
- Penalties
- -0.4
- Average → replacement
- +0.1
In goals.
| Season | Team | GP | WAR | 90% interval | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | TOR | 5 | -0.2 | -0.3 to -0.1 | 493/596 |
| 2023-24 | CBJ | 28 | 0.4 | -0.5 to 1.2 | 253/608 |
| 2022-23 | PIT | 9 | 0.0 | -0.2 to 0.4 | 353/617 |
Player tracking (NHL EDGE)
League EDGE leaderboards →Speed, shot power, distance covered, time by zone: measured by chips in the puck and shoulder pads. 90th percentile = better than 90% of players.
- Hardest shot
- 129.2 km/h20th percentileleague avg. 135.1 km/h
- Top skating speed
- 33.0 km/h4th percentileleague avg. 35.7 km/h
- Bursts over 20 mph, season
- 511th percentileleague avg. 76
- Offensive zone time
- 46.2 %94th percentileleague avg. 42.3 %
See full detailsHide details
- Total distance, season
- 12.9 km11th percentileleague avg. 204.5 km
- Distance, single-game high
- 2.84 km8th percentileleague avg. 4.67 km
- Offensive zone at 5v5
- 43.5 %91st percentileleague avg. 41.3 %
- Neutral zone time
- 17.0 %5th percentileleague avg. 17.8 %
- Defensive zone time
- 36.8 %90th percentileleague avg. 39.8 %
Shooting
| Shots on goal | Goals | Shooting % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 410th percentile | 00th percentile | 0.0 %0th percentile |
| High danger | 18th percentile | 00th percentile | 0.0 %0th percentile |
| Mid range | 19th percentile | 00th percentile | 0.0 %0th percentile |
| Long range | 115th percentile | 00th percentile | 0.0 %0th percentile |
Shots on goal by zone
2024-2025 regular season. Measured by puck and player tracking chips; the percentile ranks the player within the league.
Last 5 games
| Date | Opponent | G | A | PTS | +/- | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 7, 2024 | @ PIT | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9:18 |
| December 2, 2024 | vs CHI | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 9:53 |
| November 30, 2024 | @ TBL | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 8:42 |
| November 27, 2024 | @ FLA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10:56 |
| November 24, 2024 | vs UTA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10:37 |
Alex Nylander: frequently asked questions
How many goals does Alex Nylander have in 2024-25?
Alex Nylander has 0 goals and 0 points (0 assists) in 5 games in 2024-25.
How old is Alex Nylander?
Alex Nylander is 28 years old: he was born on March 2, 1998.
How tall is Alex Nylander, and how much does he weigh?
Alex Nylander is 6'1" (185 cm) and weighs 205 lb (93 kg).
Where is Alex Nylander from?
Canada: Alex Nylander was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
What team does Alex Nylander play for?
Alex Nylander plays for the Calgary Flames in the NHL, at L, wearing number 93.
Is Alex Nylander injured?
No: Alex Nylander is not on the latest NHL injury report. This answer is updated throughout the season.
How good is Alex Nylander?
Alex Nylander produced -0.2 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2024-25, 493rd of 596 players at his position in the NHL.
How much does Alex Nylander make?
Alex Nylander carries a cap hit of $850K per season, on a contract worth $850K in total over 1 years.
When does Alex Nylander's contract end?
Alex Nylander's contract runs through the 2026-27 season; he will then be an unrestricted free agent.
Is Alex Nylander a top-10 player at his position?
No: by WAR, he ranks 493rd of 596 players at his position in the NHL in 2024-25. Our comparison tool puts him side by side with any other player.
What are Alex Nylander's career stats?
Over his NHL career, Alex Nylander has 126 games, 25 goals, 24 assists and 49 points. His best season: 2019-20, with 26 points in 65 games.
Where was Alex Nylander drafted?
Alex Nylander was drafted 8th overall (round 1) by Buffalo Sabres in 2016.
How does Alex Nylander perform in the playoffs?
In the playoffs, Alex Nylander has 8 games and 0 points in his career. His pace (0.00 points per game) is lower than his regular-season pace (0.39).
Is Alex Nylander a good fantasy pick?
A useful depth pick: our projection has him at 4 points in 2026-27, or 0.57 points per game.
Does Alex Nylander have siblings?
Yes: his brother William Nylander (plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs; drafted 8th overall two years earlier).
Is Alex Nylander related to anyone famous?
Yes: Michael Nylander (father, played for the Calgary Flames; joined the Mississauga Steelheads as an assistant coach when Alex committed).
What is Alex Nylander's nationality?
Alex Nylander is Swedish. Internationally: represented Sweden at junior level; 2016 World Junior Championships — led Sweden in points (4 goals, 5 assists), Sweden finished fourth; 2018 World Junior Championships — 1 goal and 6 assists in 7 games, won silver medal.
What awards has Alex Nylander won?
Emms Family Award (OHL Rookie of the Year) ; CHL Rookie of the Year.
Where did Alex Nylander play before turning pro?
committed to the Mississauga Steelheads (OHL) in 2015; played one season with them.
How many points is Alex Nylander projected to score in 2026-27?
Our projection has him at 4 points in 7 games in 2026-27 (0 to 15 points, 80% interval), based on his recent seasons, age and role.
See also: his Calgary Flames teammates
Full roster →
NHL.com ↗ · Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)