BILLY KIMMERLY nyman FLASHES IMPRESSIVE SKILLS 14 KINGSTON FRONTENACS GAMEDAY MAGAZINE
y Doug Graham <strong>Kingston</strong> Whig-Standard hen it comes to communicating on the ice W with his <strong>Kingston</strong> <strong>Frontenacs</strong> teammates, rookie Linus Nyman lets his skating do the talking. While the 17-year-old Helsinki native’s English is improving each day, his hockey skills are way ahead of the curve. “He is just a really intelligent hockey player. Lots of hockey sense. Tremendous skill and speed,” said Warren Foegele, who has adopted Nyman as a linemate since Foegele returned to the Ontario Hockey League in mid-October. Foegele is impressed with what Nyman has been able to do in his first experience in North America. “It is definitely not easy coming over here from Finland your first year. He has managed to fit in with the guys right away,” Foegele said. “We are lucky to have him.” Nyman, the <strong>Frontenacs</strong> first-round pick in the Canadian Hockey League Euro draft in July, is the top goal scorer among all OHL rookies with his 10 goals. Nyman’s three game-winning goals lead the <strong>Frontenacs</strong>. Four times Nyman has scored the first goal in a <strong>Kingston</strong> game. He and Sudbury’s Dmitry Sokolov and Sarnia’s Anthony Salinitri share the OHL lead in that category. It has all added up to a nice start for the fivefoot-10 Nyman. “Everything is pretty new here. I think everything is going pretty good. The guys help me a lot,” Nyman said. Asked what he considered his biggest challenge coming into the OHL, Nyman’s answer was similar to that of any new player stepping into the league. “Here hockey is much faster. The guys are a little bit bigger. I have to be more ready to play,” Nyman said. <strong>Frontenacs</strong> head coach Paul McFarland said Nyman has come into the league as advertised. He was one of the best juniors at the Ivan Hlinka tournament in August, leading Finland in scoring. “He’s got an elite skill set. He doesn’t need many chances to score,” McFarland said. “A lot of the good goal scorers, they time it properly when to arrive at the net to get scoring chances, to find the rebound and he’s got a nose for that.” Nyman, at 150 pounds, is on the lighter side for an OHL forward. However, McFarland said Nyman isn’t a lightweight on the ice. “I haven’t seen him shy away at all. I think he plays the game hard. He protects the puck well and he’s good defensively.” McFarland sees Nyman’s work at practices as a sign of how he is becoming more comfortable in his surroundings. “He is practising with a lot more pace every day. That is going to translate into more opportunities in games,” said McFarland, who has made Nyman and Foegele an item up front ever since Foegele returned from the Carolina Hurricanes NHL training camp. Nyman has scored eight goals in the 12 games he has played right wing with Foegele at centre. “I know where he is and he knows where I am. I think we play very good together,” Nyman said. “For me he is great to play with,” Foegele said. “I just try to tell him where I’ll be and he will know where that is. I know he has so much skill he will find me.” “I think they have a good balance,” McFarland said. “Warren’s a workhorse and likes to distribute the puck. I think the two of them play well together. They keep other teams on their toes.” The latest player to go to left wing with Foegele and Nyman is veteran Ted Nichol. “We are trying to find the right mix to play with them. Ted Nichol was outstanding in Sarnia with those two so he is going to get another shot at it,” McFarland said. Nyman said he is feeling “pretty good” with his rookie season. “Yeah, more and more comfortable in games,” Nyman said. “The guys help me a lot off ice and on so that’s helped a lot.” For full coverage of the <strong>Kingston</strong> <strong>Frontenacs</strong> read The <strong>Kingston</strong> Whig-Standard’s home edition or read it online at www. thewhig.com © <strong>2016</strong> The <strong>Kingston</strong> Whig-Standard. This article was originally published in The <strong>Kingston</strong> Whig-Standard. Reprinted with permission. OFFICIAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM, VOLUME 44, <strong>2016</strong> 15