Alex Nylander: I 'thought maybe I'd be in the NHL sooner'

Alexander Nylander took what could be viewed as a not-so-subtle dig at the Buffalo Sabres after they dealt him away Tuesday.

The Chicago Blackhawks' newest acquisition praised his new organization while lamenting the fact that he didn't play more regularly at the top level with his old one.

"(I) thought maybe I would be in the NHL sooner than I have been, but I'm looking forward to being part of the Blackhawks organization," Nylander told The Athletic's Mark Lazerus on Tuesday. "(The Blackhawks are) really good with development players. They know what they're doing. Stuff that happened in Buffalo and Rochester is in the past."

Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman didn't guarantee that Nylander will make the team out of camp but said he's encouraged by the potential.

"We don't hand out those jobs in the summer, but with his offensive talent and skill level, it's certainly exciting to think of what he could be when you put him with some of the players we have," the GM told Lazerus.

Nylander, who the Sabres traded earlier Tuesday for defenseman Henri Jokiharju, spent the last three seasons with Buffalo but played the vast majority of his games with the club's AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

The 21-year-old forward appeared in only 19 NHL contests over that span, producing three goals and six points.

He managed only 30 goals and 56 points in 165 AHL games, including 12 goals and 31 points in 49 contests this past season.

Buffalo drafted Nylander eighth overall in 2016. He's the brother of Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander and the son of former NHL center Michael Nylander.

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