Alex Nylander is an All Star.
The AHL announced a series of roster changes to this week's All-Star Classic -- a number of players withdrawing due to injury and players being selected as their replacements -- and Nylander was among the players added to the Atlantic Division roster for the event.
It is Nylander's first time being selected for the All-Star Classic.
Nylander replaces defenseman Xavier Ouellet as Wilkes-Barre's representative. Ouellet remains sidelined week-to-week with a lower-body injury. The game is being held just outside of Ouellet's hometown in Laval, Quebec, which likely was a factor in Ouellet being selected in the first place.
The skills competition is set to be held on Sunday, Feb. 5, followed by the game on Monday, Feb. 6.
Nylander leads Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in goals (17) and is tied with Valtteri Puustinen in points (34) for the team lead. He's played in 40 games this season primarily on the wing of the top line. His one goal this week came on the power play:
Seven of Nylander's 17 goals this season have come on the power play. Of his 17 assists, nine have come on the power play.
Nylander, 24, was re-signed to a one-year, two-way contract for this season over the summer. When Nylander joined Wilkes-Barre last season in the Sam Lafferty trade, head coach J.D. Forrest pointed to Nylander's pace as an area of his game in which they'd like to see improvement. Mike Sullivan again pointed Nylander's pace as a part of his game they'd like to see him work on during training camp this past September. Nylander also told me during that camp that the message from the coaching staff is that they'd like to see him work harder when he doesn't have the puck and get better in puck battles.
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Here's how the Penguins' other NHL-contracted players in the minors or draft picks elsewhere did this week:
FORWARDS
Corey Andonovski
Position: Right wing
Size: 6-1/194
Shoots: Right
Drafted: Free agent signing
Age: 23
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
Season totals: 36 games, 7 goals, 6 assists, 50 PIM
Andonovski scored a goal and an assist in three games:
(Horrendous uniforms from the Phantoms in that clip)
Raivis Ansons
Position: Center/wing
Size: 6-1/190
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2020, fifth round
Age: 20
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
Season totals: 29 games, 1 goal, 3 assists, 16 PIM
Ansons had an assist in three games.
Tristan Broz
Position: Center/wing
Size: 6-0/178
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, second round
Age: 20
Team: Denver (NCAA)
Season totals: 27 games, 9 goals, 11 assists, 12 PIM
Broz was scoreless in his only game.
Drake Caggiula
Position: Center/wing
Size: 5-10/176
Shoots: Left
Drafted: Free agent signing
Age: 28
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
Season totals: 33 games, 9 goals, 21 assists, 27 PIM
Caggiula had three assists in three games this week.
Judd Caulfield
Position: Right wing
Size: 6-4/212
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, fifth round
Age: 21
Team: North Dakota (NCAA)
Season totals: 27 games, 8 goals, 7 assists, 10 PIM
Caulfield recorded one shorthanded goal and two assists two games this week as North Dakota's third-line right wing:
Luke Devlin
Position: Center
Size: 6-2/185
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2022, sixth round
Age: 18
Team: West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)
Season totals: 34 games, 7 goals, 17 assists, 11 PIM
Devlin was scoreless in three games centering the Warriors' top line.
Jordan Frasca
Position: Center/left wing
Size: 6-2/183
Shoots: Left
Drafted: Free agent signing
Age: 21
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
Season totals: 3 games, 14 PIM (AHL), 14 games, 2 assists (ECHL)
Frasca was scoreless in two games this week for Wheeling. After spending much of the early part of his season after his ankle injury at center, he's been shifted to wing as of late.
Ty Glover
Position: Center/ left wing
Size: 6-3/201
Shoots: Left
Drafted: Free agent signing
Age: 22
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
Season totals: 26 games, 2 goals, 2 assists, 7 PIM
Glover had one goal in three games this week. It was his second goal of the season:
Jonathan Gruden
Position: Center/left wing
Size: 6-0/172
Shoots: Left
Drafted: Acquired via trade
Age: 22
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
Season totals: 32 games, 11 goals, 5 assists, 30 PIM (AHL), 3 games (AHL)
Gruden was re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre and practiced with the team on Monday.
Filip Hallander
Position: Center/left wing
Size: 6-3/201
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2018, second round
Age: 22
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
Season totals: 26 games, 8 goals, 17 assists, 8 PIM (AHL), 2 games (NHL)
Hallander resumed practicing with the team last week in a non-contact jersey. He is considered week-to-week.
Nathan Legare
Position: Right wing
Size: 6-0/205
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2019, third round
Age: 22
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
Season totals: 40 games, 5 goals, 4 assists, 23 PIM
Legare was scoreless in three games.
Alex Nylander
Position: Wing
Size: 6-1/192
Shoots: Right
Drafted: Acquired via trade
Age: 24
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
Season totals: 40 games, 17 goals, 17 assists, 8 PIM
Nylander had a goal and an assist in three games this week.
Zam Plante
Position: Center
Size: 5-9/161
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2022, fifth round
Age: 18
Team: Chicago Steel (USHL)
Season totals: 24 games, 3 goals, 11 assists, 2 PIM
Plante was scoreless in three games centering Chicago's second line.
Sam Poulin
Position: Center/wing
Size: 6-2/214
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2019, first round
Age: 21
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
Season totals: 13 games, 4 goals, 6 PIM (AHL), 3 games, 1 assist, 2 PIM (NHL)
Poulin remains away from the team on personal leave after leaving on Dec. 7.
He wrote this message on Instagram on Wednesday evening: "Not being OK is more than OK. Opening yourself up about what's going on might be one of the hardest things to do, but ultimately, one of the best things you can do for yourself. Let’s normalize this stigma & spread more love to the people around us, because there's more people than we think who struggle mentally every single day. If you are struggling, know you are not alone."
Valtteri Puustinen
Position: Wing
Size: 5-9/183
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, seventh round
Age: 23
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
Season totals: 41 games, 16 goals, 18 assists, 20 PIM
Puustinen had two goals and two assists in three games.
Lukas Svejkovsky
Position: Wing
Size: 5-9/170
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2020, fourth round
Age: 21
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
Season totals: 26 games, 2 goals, 6 assists, 6 PIM
Svejkovsky is sidelined with a lower-body injury sustained on Jan. 20. He is considered day-to-day.
Kirill Tankov
Position: Center
Size: 6-1/185
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, seventh round
Age: 20
Team: SKA-Neva (VHL)
Season totals: 1 game
Tankov suffered a season-ending neck injury in the opening game of the season and required surgery to repair a fractured vertebrae. He is expected to be able to play next season and is no longer wearing a neck brace.
Chase Yoder
Position: Center
Size: 5-10/176
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2020, sixth round
Age: 20
Team: Providence (NCAA)
Season totals: 25 games, 5 goals, 6 assists, 12 PIM
Yoder was scoreless in his two games this week centering Providence's third line.
DEFENSEMEN
Santeri Airola
Size: 5-11, 163
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, seventh round
Age: 22
Team: Ilves (Liiga), KOOVEE (Mestis)
Season totals: 5 games, 2 PIM (Liiga), 26 games, 8 goals, 10 assists, 22 PIM (Mestis)
Airola scored a goal and two assists in his one game this week in the Finnish second league.
Isaac Belliveau
Size: 6-2/185
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, fifth round
Age: 19
Team: Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
Season totals: 34 games, 6 goals, 27 assists, 18 PIM
Belliveau was scoreless in his only game this week on the second defense pairing.
Nolan Collins
Size: 6-3/194
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2022, sixth round
Age: 18
Team: Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
Season totals: 39 games, 5 goals, 8 assists, 39 PIM
Collins had a goal and an assist in three games this week on Sudbury's top defense pairing.
Taylor Fedun
Size: 6-1/201
Shoots: Right
Drafted: Free agent signing
Age: 34
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
Season totals: 34 games, 3 assists, 12 PIM
Fedun had one assist in three games.
Daniel Laatsch
Size: 6-5/183
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, seventh round
Age: 20
Team: Wisconsin (NCAA)
Season totals: 26 games, 5 assists, 4 PIM
Laatsch recorded two assists in two games on Wisconsin's second pairing. Both assists came in the same game, his first multi-point game of his collegiate career.
This was one of Laatsch's assists. It initially looked like it might be his goal, but it was later determined to deflect in off of a teammate:
Josh Maniscalco
Size: 6-2/205
Shoots: Right
Drafted: Free agent signing
Age: 23
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
Season totals: 8 games, 1 assist, 5 PIM (AHL), 31 games, 8 goals, 20 assists, 42 PIM (ECHL)
Maniscalco played in two games this week and recorded his first AHL point, the lone helper on Glover's goal shown above. He's dressed as a forward in his last three games due to injury/illness.
Ryan McCleary
Size: 6-2/180
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2021, seventh round
Age: 19
Team: Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
Season totals: 43 games, 11 goals, 14 assists, 29 PIM
McCleary had one goal in three games on Portland's top pairing.
Xavier Ouellet
Size: 6-0/196
Shoots: Left
Drafted: Free agent signing
Age: 29
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
Season totals: 29 games, 2 goals, 15 assists, 21 PIM
Ouellet is week-to-week with a lower-body injury suffered on Dec. 31.
Owen Pickering
Size: 6-4/180
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2022, first round
Age: 19
Team: Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
Season totals: 37 games, 6 goals, 21 assists, 12 PIM
Pickering recorded an assist in two games on Swift Current's top pairing. He was mic'd up for a practice in Seattle:
Is 75 degrees too hot to sleep in?
— Swift Current Broncos (@SCBroncos) January 31, 2023
It was a practice day in Kent and we mic'd up Owen Pickering ahead of tomorrow's big game against Seattle. pic.twitter.com/c1389MfDRc
Ty Smith
Size: 5-11/179
Shoots: Left
Drafted: Acquired via trade
Age: 22
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
Season totals: 28 games, 4 goals, 10 assists, 10 PIM (AHL), 9 games, 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 PIM (NHL)
Smith was scoreless and a minus-2 in his two games since being sent back to Wilkes-Barre.
Jack St. Ivany
Size: 6-3/201
Shoots: Right
Drafted: Free agent signing
Age: 23
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
Season totals: 33 games, 5 assists, 18 PIM
St. Ivany has an assist in three games this week.
Colin Swoyer
Size: 6-0/185
Shoots: Right
Drafted: Free agent signing
Age: 24
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
Season totals: 16 games, 4 assists, 4 PIM (AHL), 6 games, 1 assist, 4 PIM (ECHL)
Swoyer was scoreless in two games with Wilkes-Barre then was a healthy scratch on Saturday.
GOALTENDERS
Joel Blomqvist
Size: 6-2/183
Catches: Left
Drafted: 2020, second round
Age: 21
Team: Karpat (Liiga)
Season totals: 21 games, 2.29 GAA, .907 SV%
Blomqvist has been injured since Dec. 16 after an in-game collision that included contact to the head. His team hasn't disclosed what the injury is, but if it is a concussion, it's his second one of the season after he previously had one in October from another collision in a game.
Taylor Gauthier
Size: 6-2/207
Catches: Right
Drafted: Free agent signing
Age: 21
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
Season totals: 8 games, 2.20 GAA, .919 SV% (AHL), 16 games, 3.09 GAA, .896 SV%, 1 shutout (ECHL)
Gauthier returned from injury and appeared in two games for Wilkes-Barre. One was a 32:21 relief appearance in which he stopped all of the eight shots he faced. He started the next night and stopped 28 of 29 shots.
Filip Lindberg
Size: 6-1/194
Catches: Left
Drafted: Free agent signing
Age: 23
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
Season totals: 17 games, 2.92 GAA, .901 SV%
Lindberg started on Friday and allowed four goals on 18 shots in the first 24:56 before being yanked in favor of Gauthier.
Sergei Murashov
Size: 6-0/167
Catches: Right
Drafted: 2022, fourth round
Age: 18
Team: Loko Yaroslavl (MHL), Lokomotiv (KHL)
Season totals: 36 games, 1.34 GAA, .954 SV%, 11 shutouts (MHL), 1 game, 1.00 GAA, .947 SV% (KHL)
Murashov returned to the MHL from the KHL and played in one game, stopping 44 of 50 shots in a 6-5 overtime loss.
Dustin Tokarski
Size: 6-0/198
Catches: Left
Drafted: Free agent signing
Age: 33
Team: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
Season totals: 20 games, 2.27 GAA, .923 SV%, 1 shutout (AHL), 2 games, 2.67 GAA, .915 SV% (NHL)
Tokarski's one AHL game this week was the remainder of a game in Utica that originally started on Oct. 17 and was postponed late in the second period due to a power failure in the building. He stopped six of eight shots in the last 21:57 of the game. He was recalled to Pittsburgh to back up Casey DeSmith then was sent back down at the start of the All-Star break.
