Dubas Offers Honest Criticism of Alex Nylander, Bold Prediction (+)

This could be the season that Pittsburgh Penguins forward Alex Nylander establishes himself as an NHL regular. President of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas expressed that belief but also gave the 25-year-old a bit of a nudge Monday.

During a wide-ranging news conference on the eve of the season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks, Dubas indicated that Nylander did not show the progression over the course of training camp that the team had hoped for. Nylander cleared waivers last week and was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

“If you go back through his camp, I thought the first exhibition game against Columbus, he was outstanding. And then in the subsequent games and practices, I thought he dipped a little bit,” Dubas said.