TORONTO

If William Nylander lives up to the billing Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg is giving him, the kid has the potential to be a star for the Maple Leafs for years to come.

Asked about Nylander on Friday, Forsberg used the word "fantastic" on two occasions while describing the skill set and the future of the 18-year-old forward, who was the Leafs' first-round pick in the 2014 NHL entry draft.

Forsberg is the assistant general manager of Modo, Nylander's team in the Swedish elite league. Through nine games, Nylander has four goals and eight assists for 12 points, earning kudos from Forsberg in the process.

"He came to us last year at the beginning of the year and he's been taking huge steps," Forsberg said. "He's more mature and he's gotten stronger with his body.

"You could see the first time he came to Modo he has fantastic skills. You can see he's great with the puck, he's very good at finding teammates and smooth when it comes to scoring goals. He's getting better and better.

"I've been impressed with what he's done in the Swedish league so far. Every time he touches the puck something happens. Hopefully he will get the strength to be able to play over here because he's going to be fantastic."

Heady praise indeed,

Toronto fans will get the chance to see Nylander play live during next month's world junior championship when he leads Team Sweden into the Air Canada Centre. It is an opportunity he relishes.

"I want to be the one who leads the team throughout the tournament," Nylander told the Swedish publication Expressen this week.

Having recently seen Nylander play, Leafs director of amateur scouting Dave Morrison said the Toronto prospect has been finding success at both centre and on the wing.

"I got a really good start when I got home again," Nylander told Expressen when asked about the Leafs' decision to send him back to Sweden in early October. "I got to play a lot from the start, too, and it has helped me.

"It's very fun to play and gain confidence in all situations."

Nylander credited Phil Kessel with showing him some tricks of the trade during training camp.

"He helped me with a lot of little things and (gave me) tips all the time," Nylander said. "Currently, he is an incredibly smart player and incredibly skilled. And I noticed that his shot is really good too."