Frank Seravalli TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Follow|Archive

William Nylander’s game-winning blast brought the Air Canada Centre to its feet on Monday night, allowing the imagination of Leafs Nation to run wild amid another abysmal season.

But Nylander’s elite shot - and first career three-point night - isn’t what turned the head of coach Mike Babcock.

He was more impressed by the fact that Nylander went 4-for-5 in defensive zone faceoffs. He noted Nylander back-checked hard and seemed more aware in his own end.

“You know, those are what matters to me more than the other stuff,” Babcock told reporters. “The other stuff, we know he has that.”

Nylander, 19, now has four goals and three assists in 12 NHL games, including five points in the last two contests. His confidence is oozing, something teammates said is evident every time he touches the puck.

The real test, Babcock said, is waiting on Thursday night against Anaheim. Babcock hinted it “won’t be pretty.” There is little Babcock can do to shield Nylander against a team with two elite centres in Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler.

“You get out there every shift against men and you figure out how hard it is to have the puck in the league,” Babcock said.

It won’t get any easier after Thursday. Patrice Bergeron, Steven Stamkos and Claude Giroux wait among Toronto’s final 10 dates, along with two size-up opportunities against Dylan Larkin and Jack Eichel.

That taste of Big-Boy hockey - a final exam of sorts for Nylander’s freshman season - make it easy to see why the Maple Leafs saw value in burning the first year of his entry-level contract.

There is no way to put a number on the experience Nylander is banking.

It didn’t stop fans and pundits from raising the question, though. Nylander played his 10th NHL game last Thursday, officially using the first year of his deal, which had been stashed in the AHL since he was a 19-year-old entering the system from Europe. With contributing players on inexpensive rookie contracts valued more than ever in the NHL, why did the Maple Leafs waste a year of his deal for a 22-game run in a lost season? Nylander will return to the Marlies for a Calder Cup playoff run anyway.

The answer was apparent on Monday night.

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And in a long-term view, there is actually merit to Nylander using up the first year of his entry-level contract now.

Most importantly, by beginning his contract with a limited number of games remaining in 2015-16, the Maple Leafs have ensured that Nylander will not accrue his first season toward unrestricted free agency until at least the second year of his deal.

Nylander will not hit the 41-game mark this season, meaning he will not be able to become an unrestricted free agent until 2023 at the earliest, at the age of 27. Stamkos, for example, played immediately in the NHL and could become the first marquee unrestricted free agent to hit the market at age 26 in league history. That extra year could make a big difference.

The Maple Leafs will also have four potentially less expensive years of Nylander as a restricted agent after this contract runs out, as opposed to three if he had remained in the AHL until next year.

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All of those contract questions and concerns turn concrete if Nylander blossoms into the full-time force he showed glimpses of on Monday night.

In reality, Nylander’s contract is probably the least of Toronto’s concerns - particularly for a big-spending team that is about to have oodles of cap space. Nylander will eventually get his due.

Until then, he is serving an equally important role: a reason to watch.

Contact Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @frank_seravalli