Swedish junior coach expects Alexander Nylander to crack Sabres' lineup

Team Sweden isn't planning on having Sabres forward prospect Alexander Nylander on the roster for the 2018 World Junior Hockey Championship in Buffalo.

Nylander, who played mainly in the AHL last season, was made available by the Sabres for the 2017 tournament, and starred en route to a fourth-place finish for his home country. But Swedish coach Tomas Monten didn't add the 19-year-old to the roster for this week's World Junior Summer Showcase, and expects Nylander to be a permanent fixture in the Buffalo lineup in 2017-18.

"Of course if Buffalo wants him to play (for Sweden), we're going to keep our door open. He for sure has a spot on our team but I think he's going to make Buffalo this year," Monten said, according to Amy Moritz of the Buffalo News. "That's why I didn't bring him. We haven't talked in the summer.

"Of course I'm going to ask Buffalo what they think. If he's available, we'll take him for sure but I don't think he is. I think he's going to play in Buffalo."

Nylander was drafted eighth overall by the Sabres in 2016. He registered 10 goals and 18 assists in 65 games for the Rochester Americans as an AHL rookie last season, and recorded one assist in four appearances with Buffalo.