Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander took part in the European Player Media Tour over the weekend and swapped jerseys with AC Milan winger Rafael Leao as part of the experience.
Nylander was among the NHL/NHLPA cohort travelling to Milan for the start of the Serie A season. The players were given a tour of the iconic San Siro stadium and were in attendance for AC Milan’s season opener against Cremonese. Cremonese pulled off the upset, recording a 2-1 victory against the home side. It certainly didn’t dampen the experience for Nylander, or New Jersey Devils star Nico Hischier, who also swapped jerseys with Leao.
And just when you think a trip to Europe would provide some anonymity, Nylander was stopped by Leafs fans during the trip but he was more than happy to hang out.
“It’s insane,” Nylander said via NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger. “It’s a huge fan base with incredible fans. And they were so nice to me when they met me up there. Anything you can do to give back to them.
“It’s crazy. Everywhere I go it seems like I always run into Leafs fans and it’s incredible. It shows how big the Leafs are. People all over the world watch the Leafs.”
Nylander is now preparing for training camp, where he is expected to take on a larger leadership role after Mitch Marner was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights. Toronto’s star forward was recently asked about Marner and rejected the notion that his former teammate was planning on leaving the club all along.
“Not sure where that stuff comes from, but I don’t think he was ever thinking of leaving ahead of time,” Nylander said. “I actually asked him during the season and he said he was concentrating on Toronto. I didn’t want to press him on that and let him be because it was obviously on his mind, but his play was focused on helping us.”