Player Discussion Nino "El Niño" Niederreiter

[Dampland]

Nino reminds me of Coyle from last year, except it seems he has better vision distributing the puck than Charlie had.

I think he's looked pretty impressive thus far.

I'd almost agree with you, except that I think Coyle has/had a higher drive. Sometimes it seems like Nino is coasting and watching a bit more than Coyle ever did.

 

[rynryn]

i don't think Coyle has more drive. I think he's far more focused (and careful) but Nino isn't lacking for drive.

 

[AJ Thelen]

Trying Nino on the 1st line is something i have been hoping for..
Excited to see if he can produce good numbers..

 

[elnewby]

Really liking what I see so far. I think he really fits what we needed. A big, strong winger who can score. He has a wicked shot, and that assist to Bacon earlier was pretty nice too. Seems like a good guy too, I've liked his work out there.

 

[Jarick]

From what I see out of Nino, he has more natural offensive skill, or at least he's further along than Coyle was last year. Nino seems like he has better vision and more patience. Coyle's obviously a beast and an incredible worker, but Nino has shown very good strength as well and still has size.

 

[TaLoN]

Funny how it goes. Isles mishandle Nino, he requests a trade and we end up landing a 20-year-old former fifth overall pick for a third liner and a third round pick.

I said the trade was a steal then, and after seeing Niederreiter play for the Wild, I still think the Wild committed highway robbery on the Isles.

 

[DeuceMN]

I said the trade was a steal then, and after seeing Niederreiter play for the Wild, I still think the Wild committed highway robbery on the Isles.

x2 on this

 

[kirant]

x2 on this

x3

He was in a terrible situation with the Islanders. The calls of him being a bust were premature, especially if you were familiar with what systems he'd play best under (in other words: without two washed up, unable to pass players with him).

i don't think Coyle has more drive. I think he's far more focused (and careful) but Nino isn't lacking for drive.

I think the difference may be defensive instinct - Nino has never been great defensively and is at his best on the forecheck and and being set up. Coyle sounds like a better two-way player than Nino.

 

[Haite]

I said the trade was a steal then, and after seeing Niederreiter play for the Wild, I still think the Wild committed highway robbery on the Isles.

Well, it's not like Niederreiter was going to play for the Islanders anymore anyway, and I'm sure they took the best package they could get. We just got really lucky for having the right piece to offer in Clutterbuck just as Nino's value was at its lowest.

 

[tomgilbertfan]

The big thing is Nino is being put in a position to succeed here. He was on the 4th line on the Isles and then wasn't even invited to camp the year after. Here he's going to be on the 1st line already. Maybe he does well maybe he doesn't, but the Wild are giving him every chance to prove that he can play with top-6 talent, and not forcing him to play with 4th liners.

 

[NHL1674]

Well, I'd say he looked pretty good with that top line experiment.

 

[rynryn]

I liked Nino on the second line too, but I like the flip-flop better. unlike most people here i liked Pomms on the top line--thought he was fine. Also like him on the second line (with Granny and Heater, both of which looked better than they have all season--not that Granny has been bad).
I think this might be exactly what Yeo said it was--a move to make the team less dependent on the first line. I think Pomm will be fine with Coyle at C too, if they go that way when he comes back.

 

[NHL1674]

I liked Nino on the second line too, but I like the flip-flop better. unlike most people here i liked Pomms on the top line--thought he was fine. Also like him on the second line (with Granny and Heater, both of which looked better than they have all season--not that Granny has been bad).
I think this might be exactly what Yeo said it was--a move to make the team less dependent on the first line. I think Pomm will be fine with Coyle at C too, if they go that way when he comes back.

True. Nino did look pretty good with Coyle too. Perhaps it'll be a game of musical chairs between the top 6. So far both Nino and Coyle have looked fairly good no matter who they're playing with, which gives us some flexibility.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Granlund too, so far.

 

[tomgilbertfan]

I like Nino with Parise because that's 2 wingers on a line that are relentless and love to go to the net.

 

[melinko]

Still can't believe we got him for Clutterbuck, that was a terrible trade by the Islanders.

 

[Dampland]

Tonight's game against the Jets, was by far Nino's best game. He really played great along the boards, battled hard for the puck, and worked hard to create chances. Very happy with his performance tonight.

 

[Northland Wild Man]

I like the way he can bully his way to the scoring areas. We have been missing that forever here. He of course needs to polish his game a bit, but this guy should turn out to be great. He is possibly a permanent 1st line guy in his career IMO. He looks like a steal so far.

 

[youvegotit]

Nino looks really good so far. Much better suited for a top 6 role then a bottom 6. Hope he continues to get top 6 minutes.

If we keep seeing our young players grow and succeed like they have been, we will have soon have DEPTH at the forward position, DEPTH... not quite sure what that even means as a Wild fan but I like it the sounds of it.

 

[plock]

Still can't believe we got him for Clutterbuck, that was a terrible trade by the Islanders.

After the way they treated him Nino was never going to sign another contract with the Islanders so they pretty much had to trade him.

 

[tomthestone*]

Nino looks incredibly good on his backhand. He unleashed a few nice passes in the opener, then showed he can fire that biscuit with his stick turned around Thursday against the Jets. Backhanded plays are a bit of a lost art in the NHL so I appreciate that aspect of his game.

A lot of what he does with the puck seems like the same few canned, pre-determined moves (as opposed to stickhandling through traffic on instinct), but that can be effective with his size and willingness to drive the net. Also love his ability to protect the puck, and he's solid (both offensively and defensively) in battles along the wall. It's pretty awesome seeing a young power forward try to dangle through a defender's legs during a 1-on-1 instead of just clapping one into his shin pads from the circle. I don't recall the Wild ever having a prospect with that combination of size and skill on display with the big club prior to this group.

 

[TaLoN]

Well, it's not like Niederreiter was going to play for the Islanders anymore anyway, and I'm sure they took the best package they could get. We just got really lucky for having the right piece to offer in Clutterbuck just as Nino's value was at its lowest.

The Islanders only have themselves to blame. They threw him into a situation to fail as a 19yr old, then never gave him a fair shake after.

Their stupidity is our thievery.

Imagine how good this guy would be playing with a guy like Tavares!

 

[torero]

I think that the Islanders had to make him play 11-12 in NHL for cap reasons or ... . He got burned and stayed on the bench / 4th line. (with some scandals because he was complaining/tweeting that he was heating up the bench ... 18yo guy) He should have been sent to ahl that year !

then, last year, he was sent back to where he belonged to in 11-12 (ahl) ... was in the leading pack on points scored for the ahl until they started again in NHL, he was disapointed they didn't call him up. After that, he played average (still between 1/2ppg and 1ppg !) but wasn't in the leading pack anymore. (funnily his team started to tank as well). He was never called up.

When he played for us in the WC, he was enormous. Shadowed by other players like Josi, but you saw straight that he wasn't the young Nino anymore.

I guess they separated from him for emotional reasons. To get rid of an issue that was mishandled. To clean the desk. And not because he had no future.

You guys, made a good deal !

Hopefully he will blossom further. I am actually confident he will.
for 800'000/yr you have a hell of a player !!

 

[Engebretson]

Very happy with Nino on the top line last night. The comparisons to Coyle stepping into a Top 6 role last year could be pretty spot on. Let's hope they both keep progressing well.

 

[Jarick]

Was very impressed with the backhand shot and how he went through traffic to go to the net. Zero concerns with his character or work ethic and the skills are obvious along with the size.