PHILADELPHIA -- The Toronto Maple Leafs opted for some young Swedish sizzle in picking William Nylander eighth overall in the NHL draft Friday. "Hes got high-, high-end skill. He might be the most skilled player in the draft," said Toronto GM Dave Nonis. "Electrifying," he added. "He has NHL speed, NHL hands and an NHL shot right now. Its whether or not the rest of his game can catch up." The son of former NHLer Michael Nylander, William was named best forward at the 2014 Under-18 World Championship after leading all players in assists (10) and points (16) in seven games for Sweden. Nylander, who was born in Calgary but lives in Stockholm, had one goal and six assists in 22 games with Swedens Modo this season. Just five foot nine and 169 pounds, the baby-faced Nylander looks younger than his years. "Hes grown a lot in the last 12 months ... Hes taller, hes thicker," said Nonis. "Theres a lot of work left there to do, for him. "But in terms of foot speed, puck skills, ability to shoot the puck, hes got all those down right now. So right now its going to be about hard work, getting stronger and prepared to play against North American men. Hes already played in the mens league in Sweden, hes not a kid thats been playing junior. Hes been playing in the (Swedish) elite League against some pretty highly skilled and strong players already, which bodes well for us." Nylander is a free agent in Sweden, meaning he is free to come to North America. "Hell definitely have a chance to make our team," said Nonis, while acknowledging it would be a "long shot" for him to crack the Leaf lineup as an 18-year-old. "Hell be given that opportunity and if hes good enough to stick and play and contribute, then we would keep him. And if not, well decide at that point whether its best to keep him over in North America or to have him go back to Sweden and play in the Elite League." Quizzed about being ready for the NHL, Nylander said: "Id say my goal is for next year, but if that doesnt happen, probably Ill go back to Sweden or play in the AHL." Asked to describe his game, Nylander said: "I like to score goals and make plays and work hard on both ends of the ice." Shaving looks like it wont be a problem for a while. Nonis says the young Nylander makes spectacular plays. "Those highlights happen on a regular occurrence," said Nonis. "So I think hell be a very exciting player for our fans. He can move the puck, hes not just a guy who can carry it and snipe it. Hes a good playmaker and at the under-18s, if you look at the points totals he threw up there, they were pretty impressive." Nonis also liked the way the young Swede stood up to the Canadians when the two teams met at the tournament. "I think he was tying to prove a point," he said. Nonis said the Leafs were looking to move down in the draft had two players not been available by their pick. Nylander was one, he did not name the other. Michael Nylander played for seven teams (Hartford, Calgary, Tampa Bay, Chicago, Washington, Boston and the Rangers) during his 920-game, 15-season NHL career. William played briefly with his father last season when he was loaned to Rogle in Swedens second division. LONDON, Ont. -- Antoine Bibeau bought the Val-dOr Foreurs valuable time at the Memorial Cup with his 51-save shutout Friday. Val-dOr didnt have a full tank mentally or physically in a 1-0 win over the host London Knights to kick off the tournament. Theyd won the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League title in a Game 7 on Tuesday in Baie-Comeau, Que. But Bibeaus heroics allow the Foreurs to rest on that important first win of the tournament for two days before facing the Ontario Hockey Leagues Guelph Storm on Monday. "It really was Bibeau who made the difference tonight," Foreurs forward Anthony Mantha said. "Winning this game gives us a little break, gives us two days off and we come back strong on Monday. Its just a confidence-builder for our team in general." Mantha, a first-round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings, scored in the first period for his 82nd goal in as many games for the Foreurs this season. Among Bibeaus pivotal saves was getting his blocker on a penalty-shot attempt by London forward Bo Horvat early in the third period and stopping Knights captain Chris Tierney on a breakaway in the first. The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect faced an average of 40 shots a game in the final four games of the QMJHL final series against the Drakkar, which set him up for Fridays performance. "In the last couple of weeks I was used to receiving lots of shots, so I think I was just ready and I was just trying to give the team a chance to win tonight," Bibeau said. "We wanted to get the first win as quick as possible." The Memorial Cup has been awarded to Canadian junior hockey champions since 1919 in memory of those who died in the First World War. The tournament includes the Ontario, Western and Quebec champions as well as the host team. The Western Hockey League champion Edmonton Oil Kings face the OHLs Storm on Saturday. The team with the best record after the preliminary round earns a bye to the final May 25. The second- and third-place teams meet in the semifinal May 23. If two teams are tied for third, a tiebreaker game is played. The Foreurs guaranteed themselves at least a tiebreaker game with their win Friday. This years tournament opener featured the least-rested team against a hockey club playing its first game in five weeks. The Knights were eliminated in the second round of playoffs by Guelph on April 11. The hosts Knights held the Foreurs scoreless on a pair of two-man advantages in the first twwo periods and outshot them 51-28.dddddddddddd London goaltender Anthony Stolarz played his first game in over seven weeks because of an eight-game suspension in the post-season. Stolarz played well in stopping all but one shot in front of a capacity crowd at Budweiser Gardens. The weary Foreurs sometimes reached for a pass instead of skating for the puck. "We need to play a little bit better defensively," head coach Mario Durocher said. "I think at one point we were mentally tired and we started to run all over in our defensive zone." London was one of three teams who scored over 300 goals in the OHL this season. But the Knights didnt recover their scoring touch despite three power-play chances, the penalty-shot opportunity and pulling Stolarz for an extra attacker with almost two minutes to go. London also shot the puck wide of the net several times when they had a shooting lane. "Its definitely a critical moment and Im definitely kicking myself for not scoring on that," Horvat said of his penalty-shot attempt. "Theres not much you can do about it now. Learn from it and not dwell on the past. "Yeah, missed nets. We probably had 10 missed nets. I think we could have had 60 shots. Maybe thats something we have to start thinking about and starting burying out chances." The Knights face the Oil Kings in their next game Sunday. This is Londons third straight trip to the Memorial Cup after winning the OHL championship the previous two years. The Knights lost to Shawinigan in overtime in the 2012 final and were eliminated in last years semifinal by the Portland Winterhawks in Saskatoon. Bibeau, a 20-year-old from Victoriaville, almost had a goaltenders worst nightmare in the first period. While waiting for the puck to drop for a faceoff at the far end of Budweiser Gardens, he looked up at the scoreboard a little too long and looked down just in time to close his legs on the puck. "The 200-foot (save) was easy. It was just me. I wasnt ready," Bibeau said. "I saw the puck at the last second. It was an easy save, but a key save I think." Mantha, six foot five and 204 pounds, swooped from Stolarzs left and tucked the puck under the Knights goaltender on his stick side at 16:20 of the first period. The game was scheduled for 7 p.m., but the puck dropped 34 minutes later because of pre-game ceremonies that included the song "Highway of Heroes" by The Trews. ' ' '