I’m not even gonna try to hide it. I can’t get enough of these two, on the ice, as well as off the ice. This is probably most evident by the #NylanderToWashington hashtag I’ve been half-jokingly championing on twitter for the last few years. Salary cap, schmalery cap. This needs to happen…..at some point…..please?
William Nylander and Nicklas Backstrom are just insane together 😱👏🏻… #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/U5aQQy6qeG
— Bar South N Celly™ (@BarSouthNCelly) May 14, 2017
As you may recall, the relationship between Backstrom and Nylander dates back to when Backstrom was drafted by the Capitals and first came to the states. Backstrom was invited to live with teammate and Williams father, Michael Nylander. (More on that here.)
In the summer of 2017 we first brought you a piece on the blossoming bromance between Capitals centerman Nicklas Backstrom and Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (here). The two were thoroughly enjoying their time together as Team Sweden was working their way towards a gold medal in the World Championships.
Then in 2018 the two Swedish Superstars sat down before a game at Capital One Arena to catch-up on things and chat a bit about their relationship. In this special report from Sportsnet, Nicklas Bäckström and William Nylander share their common experiences.
Everything from how they played ping pong against each other when Bäckström just moved from Sweden to how they ended up on the same line in Tre Kronor in 2017 and won World Cup gold in Cologne.
Anyway, the latest addition to the bromance was released by NHL Sverige on Friday. The two Swedes were once again staged in a rather pedestrian Q and A session, with little very little substance. However, it’s the give and take between these two that’s of value to me.
Fixar William Nylander (@wmnylander) att räkna till 30? Kika på svaret i Nicklas Bäckströms (@backstrom19) frågestund 🤡 pic.twitter.com/HZvVgLSvQN
— NHL Sverige (@NHLsv) September 20, 2019
Translation:
NB: “Hi, this is Nicklas Bäckström and by my side is William Nylander. I have some questions for you. Because you are slow started in the mornings, the first thing I want you to do is hold your breath for 10 seconds.
NB:”Well done.”
NB: “Number two, think about your best hockey memory.”
WN: “I think…”
NB: “No, just think about it!”
NB: “Question number three, I want to you count backwards to 30 in your head.”
WN: “Haha, what the **** is this. It went pretty fast, I’m done.
NB: “Question number six, hold this puck.”
NB: “And that was our small little Q&A with William.”
A Man Can Dream
It’s truly refreshing to see this relationship grow over the years, as the two star players have developed a tremendous chemistry on and off the ice. I hope someday I can see them both rocking the red at Capital One Arena.
#NylanderToWashington
By Jon Sorensen
Translation by Jesper Svensson and Sofie Bengsston
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