Hockey is, without question, the most superstitious sport on the planet. There are playoff beards, of course, the grand tradition in which players don’t shave for the duration of their team’s postseason run—a great look for hirsute vets like NHL all-time leading scorer Alex Ovechkin, not so much for peach-fuzzed rookies like Ovi’s 20-year-old Washington Capitals teammate Ryan Leonard. There’s the whole thing about never touching the conference championship trophies, lest you jinx yourself out of lifting the Stanley Cup a week or two later. And then there are the personal rituals and microfixations that every player in the league makes up for themselves—and especially hang onto when they’re in the midst of a hot streak. “There’s probably a few that are borderline crazy,” Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby said in 2010 about his own pregame routines, which at that time included walking a specific circuitous route through his home arena to avoid passing the visitor’s locker room and wearing the exact same lucky jockstrap he’d had since his junior hockey days to every single game..
William Nylander, the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs forward who has scored five goals over his last three playoff games, is adhering to a sartorial superstition of his own at the moment—and thankfully it’s a whole lot sharper and less repelling than Crosby’s overused cup. Since the Leafs’ series-clinching Game 6 over the Ottawa Senators on May 1, in which Nylander logged two vital goals and an assist, he’s arrived to every game wearing the exact same suit: a chestnut brown double-breasted ensemble, paired with a crisp white dress shirt, a gleaming silver chain, and a low-key pair of suede Adidas kicks. It’s a handsome look—while NHL players, unlike their anything-goes NBA and NFL brethren, are required to wear suits to games, Nylander is among the few style-inclined stars who actually looks good in ‘em. And the suit sure seems to be working for him: the Swede opened the Leafs’ current series against the Florida Panthers on Monday with another two goal game, and followed that up on Wednesday with one more tally.
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With the series shifting to Florida for a crucial Game 3 tonight, rest assured Nylander will be outfit repeating for a fourth consecutive game. And frankly, the Leafs—who haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967—can use all the luck they can get. Maybe with some combination of Nylander’s slick suit, his teammate Mitch Marner’s newfound dad strength, and Toronto superfan Justin Bieber continuing to clear his calendar to lock in every game, the franchise can finally turn the tide.
If you’re looking to nab your own semiformal good luck charm, Nylander’s two-piece appears to hail from his collaboration with the Toronto custom tailor Garrison Bespoke—which explains its especially flattering cut, fitting him perfectly in the shoulders with looser, flowier trousers that stand apart from the skinnies typically preferred by the rest of the league. Not able to make it up north to get your measurements taken? Not to fear: J.Crew’s got a nice linen dupe with your name on it.