Prospect Info: Andrew Nielsen

[realgoodleafs]

Nielsen is a 6'3 Tyler Myers. Not kidding. We got a beauty of a steal with him can't wait until he's with the team once Hunlak are traded at the deadline.

The earliest he'll join the Leafs is the 2018/2019 season.

 

[Gary Nylund]

People need to do something better with their life then correct Nielsen's name, like 5 or so people have already said it, do something constructive and stop being annoying.
For those who actually had something worthwhile to say thank you.

Some people may think that getting things right is worthwhile. When it comes to the spelling of someone's name, it's a simple matter of respect.

 

[Finnish your Czech]

Has his skating improved since last year? I haven't watched the Marlies much this year.

 

[Lion15]

The earliest he'll join the Leafs is the 2018/2019 season.

Why? I'm not suggesting you're wrong, but what makes you presume that to be the case?

 

[Wafflewhipper]

The earliest he'll join the Leafs is the 2018/2019 season

Earlier than that. Nielsen was right there with provorov in defense scoring last year. Both were on powerhouse teams and Provorov missed games. Still a good looking prospect that was the hurricanes go to defenseman and he was very dependable. Now he is the Marlies key defenseman in his first pro season. Thats rather quick transition to the pro's. He could play in a limited role now but the team will likely leave things alone with him until after the trade deadline. He could be a injury call up if not for the bizarre Corrado circumstance. Its impossible to understand this Corrado deal so... doubtful they log jam another defenseman into the equation.

He won't be up but i think he could easily play now and play well. His quaterbacking of the powerplay is pretty solid. Huge heavy shot that he gets on net. Him and Dermott deserve patience though i suppose.

 

[Randy Randerson]

I don't know if Nielsen has so much offensive potential except for his shot from the point. Nielsen will have to prove he can skate and be be mobile to NHL standards to be considered a solid NHL Dman.

That been said. If you believe Reilly and Zaitsev are Leafs long term. Maybe Carrick. Having Valiev, Dermot and Nielsen has NHLer (maybe) in 2018...hey might be solid defence.

Rowse, Lefvere, Gill, Ellett, Macoewn, Nattress, Mitrov (sorry about the poor spelling), not an all star between them but that was a solid group almost 25 years ago.

I thought the same about Nielsen before seeing him play some before this year, definitely has more offensive weapons than the shot. Very good hands, good vision, big wrist shot in addition to the slap shot. Most of the highlights I saw of him coming out of junior were booming point shots, a little more exposure has shed some light for sure, he's a pretty complete offensive package

He needs to improve the skating and defensive awareness to meet his potential, but even if he only becomes a second pairing 5v5 player he'll be worthy of top unit PP time

Agreed that it looks like our D corps is rounding into shape though, and if 2 of Nielsen/Dermott/Valiev become NHL worthy it really isolates our needs

 

[saltming]

Why? I'm not suggesting you're wrong, but what makes you presume that to be the case?

Because he needs to improve his defensive game. It's good but he's adjusting to the ahl level now. Once he does that he needs to Excell there before he gets a shot at the nhl.
Also his lateral movement needs to improve to really help him along.
I don't think the leafs view him as a pp specialist but rather a two way top 4 defenseman. They will percolate him. He may get a cup of coffee but he needs some seasoning still.
He looks really promising though.

 

[613Leafer]

I don't know if Nielsen has so much offensive potential except for his shot from the point. Nielsen will have to prove he can skate and be be mobile to NHL standards to be considered a solid NHL Dman.

That been said. If you believe Reilly and Zaitsev are Leafs long term. Maybe Carrick. Having Valiev, Dermot and Nielsen has NHLer (maybe) in 2018...hey might be solid defence.

Rowse, Lefvere, Gill, Ellett, Macoewn, Nattress, Mitrov (sorry about the poor spelling), not an all star between them but that was a solid group almost 25 years ago.

He had 52 assists last season and has 14 assists in 27 games with the Marlies. I haven't watched him much, but his offence seems to stem from a bit more than just having a good shot.

Skating might be questionable, but it usually is for 6'3 defensemen. The good ones make up for it with their reach/strength.

 

[saltming]

He had 52 assists last season and has 14 assists in 27 games with the Marlies. I haven't watched him much, but his offence seems to stem from a bit more than just having a good shot.

Skating might be questionable, but it usually is for 6'3 defensemen. The good ones make up for it with their reach/strength.

A bunch of those apples comes from his shot hitting the target and someone cleaning up the garbage. 2 of the marlies goals yesterday were a direct result of his shot hitting the net and the rebound sitting there and causing mayhem.

 

[Randy Randerson]

He had 52 assists last season and has 14 assists in 27 games with the Marlies. I haven't watched him much, but his offence seems to stem from a bit more than just having a good shot.

Skating might be questionable, but it usually is for 6'3 defensemen. The good ones make up for it with their reach/strength.

Definitely has more in his arsenal than the shot, I found the highlight reel below to be sort of enlightening on his offensive skillset:



He definitely needs work on his skating for defensive reasons though, he's not awful but will get Phaneuf'd at times, gets beat when he's changing direction and doesn't get up to speed quickly enough

 

[Morgs]

Nielsen's skating is not NHL level, heck it's hardly AHL level at the moment. This weekend alone, I saw him get beat way too often on the outside and had people just skating right past him. His puck skills though are dreamy for his style of defenseman. Good hands, beautiful transition passes, creative on the PP, and that shot... If he can fix his skating and learn to defend better he might actually turn into a top-pairing defenseman. I'm skeptical though that he'll ever be more than a Top-6 and a PP specialist at the moment, kind of like TJ Brennan (please please prove me wrong Nielsen, we could really use you).

The thing that we have to remember that he's 20 years old, which makes him one of the youngest defenseman in the AHL. Two seasons ago, his career all of a sudden took a giant development shot upwards, and this year you can tell it's still shooting up. Some people might think he's NHL ready now, but he needs so much more time just to make sure we don't ruin him at the NHL level. As Babs keeps saying, 'It's not a developmental league' and he definitely needs a few more years of development.

Dermott on the other hand did not stagnate last year lol. Glad to see he's not fully underrated by Leaf fans. He's not excellent at anything, but he's not bad at anything either. Reminds me of Brodin, how he's not someone you expect to go above and beyond, but also how you never have to worry about; Top-4 material that we will soon all appreciate. He's not NHL ready either. I'd give him another year after this one probably.

If a spot opens up in the NHL for a defenseman, it should be Valiev's or Corrado's.

 

[Toronto makebeleifs]

For those that have seen him play a bunch, who would his projectable NHL comparison be?

Low end would be Cody franson high end would be mark Giordano, after he came back :p. He'll likely fall somewhere in between those two

 

[Quiksilver*]

People need to do something better with their life then correct Nielsen's name, like 5 or so people have already said it, do something constructive and stop being annoying.
For those who actually had something worthwhile to say thank you.

Worthwhile, like spelling someone's name correctly? Or actually providing an accurate scouting report on a prospect (Dermott).

Perhaps you should take your own advice. Just a thought.

 

[weems]

Nielsen's skating is not NHL level, heck it's hardly AHL level at the moment. This weekend alone, I saw him get beat way too often on the outside and had people just skating right past him. His puck skills though are dreamy for his style of defenseman. Good hands, beautiful transition passes, creative on the PP, and that shot... If he can fix his skating and learn to defend better he might actually turn into a top-pairing defenseman. I'm skeptical though that he'll ever be more than a Top-6 and a PP specialist at the moment, kind of like TJ Brennan (please please prove me wrong Nielsen, we could really use you).

The thing that we have to remember that he's 20 years old, which makes him one of the youngest defenseman in the AHL. Two seasons ago, his career all of a sudden took a giant development shot upwards, and this year you can tell it's still shooting up. Some people might think he's NHL ready now, but he needs so much more time just to make sure we don't ruin him at the NHL level. As Babs keeps saying, 'It's not a developmental league' and he definitely needs a few more years of development.

Dermott on the other hand did not stagnate last year lol. Glad to see he's not fully underrated by Leaf fans. He's not excellent at anything, but he's not bad at anything either. Reminds me of Brodin, how he's not someone you expect to go above and beyond, but also how you never have to worry about; Top-4 material that we will soon all appreciate. He's not NHL ready either. I'd give him another year after this one probably.

If a spot opens up in the NHL for a defenseman, it should be Valiev's or Corrado's.

If Dermott turned into Brodin that would be a terrific win for us.
The types that you rarely notice and in some peoples eyes thats a good thing for defencemen. So basically a 3-5g, 15 assist, good skating, defensively responsible player. Even starting out that could be a nice asset on the bottom pairing.

 

[saltming]

Low end would be Cody franson high end would be mark Giordano, after he came back :p. He'll likely fall somewhere in between those two

Franconia is very comparable to him now though I think he already is more defensively aware than frank on. His lateral mobility and pivots are Franson level now, which is not good imo, his shot acuracy is equal but let's see how it works in the show.
He has more offensive weapons than frank on too, so he may turn into a defensively better Franconia which would be simply amazing!

 

[The Podium]

Franconia is very comparable to him now though I think he already is more defensively aware than frank on. His lateral mobility and pivots are Franson level now, which is not good imo, his shot acuracy is equal but let's see how it works in the show.
He has more offensive weapons than frank on too, so he may turn into a defensively better Franconia which would be simply amazing!

Im quoting before you edit because autocorrect was amazing here

 

[saltming]

Im quoting before you edit because autocorrect was amazing here

Haha!
I won't even edit that!!

 

[BayStreetBully]

Haha!
I won't even edit that!!

Did autocorrect change your username too?

 

[saltming]

Did autocorrect change your username too?

Lol. No that one was diliberate.

How the heck did it get Franconia?
Franson Franson Franson!

 

[HockeyGuruPitka]

Nielsen - Tall player with a solid frame. Hes 210 and will probably be able to put on more weight/strength without drastically changing his play. Very good shot in all categories. Able to score on his snap shot from in tight and from the blue line. His one timer is very hard and accurate.

He has good break out vision and good vision in the offensive zone.

Hes been OK in the defensive zone. Tries playing physical, however isnt yet able to dominate along the boards. Definitely needs to beef up in this category. He has a tendency to try and make the high risk boom/bust plays. These types of plays often leave him exposed as his foot speed and pivot speed are not very good.

He will be an NHL player. To what capacity no one knows. According to Mirtle the entire leafs organisation are extremely high on him. Probably consider him our most valuable prospect.

 

[CDP]

People need to do something better with their life then correct Nielsen's name, like 5 or so people have already said it, do something constructive and stop being annoying.
For those who actually had something worthwhile to say thank you.

It's really not that difficult to spell someone's name correctly. Considering there are a lot of similarly-spelled names among hockey players, it's just way less confusing for everyone if you get it right the first time.

No need to get mad.

 

[SEER]

He's learning the AHL game quite well.. He's 3rd in points on the Marlies, right now.. Very good on special teams, too.., gtom what I am seeing.. He might be one step ahead of Dermott (atm), but they will both be very good D-men, imo..

Andrew Nielsen
Defense -- shoots L
Born Nov 13 1996 -- Red Deer, ALTA
20 yrs. ago
Height 6.03 -- Weight 207

RECENT STATS:

2014-15 Lethbridge Hurricanes - WHL
59 Games... 7 Goals... 17 Assists...34 Points... -9
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2015-16 Lethbridge Hurricanes - WHL
71 Games... 18 Goals... 52 Assists... 70 Points... +30
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
2016 WHL PLAYOFFS
5 Games... 1 Goal... 2 Assists... 3 Points... -5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
2015-16 - Toronto Marlies - AHL
5 Games... 0 Goals... 2 Assists... 2 Points... -2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
*2016-17 - Toronto Marlies - AHL
27 Games... 5 Goals... 14 Assists... 19 Points... -3

D-Line Rock: Andrew Nielsen 2015-16 Highlights - TML

​

 

[Quiksilver*]

He might be one step ahead of Dermott (atm), but they will both be very good D-men, imo..

He's not though. He's ahead offensively, but that's about it.

 

[Its not your fault]

I said during the summer to you Leaf fans you underrated Nielsen (what was he voted your 10th or somewhere in there prospect?). By the way, sorry Leaf fans, get his name right it's Nielsen not Nielson.

Oiler fan, but also big WHL supporter. Nielsen is a beast, I've spoke with 93LEAFS and other Leaf fans about Nielsen and told you guys you're underrating him. I take him over Dermott all day, kid is a beast. Nielsen is your typical WHL, good ole Western Canadian Dman. Big, tough, can fight but also has skills. You can play Nielsen in any situation. He can play on the PP, PK, and at 5 v 5.

His Marlie numbers look damn good, anyone who watches the Marlies frequently can you give a review here?

I know its scary we have a boat load of good potental prospects for once, i can save you a seat on the band wagon if you would like.

 

[realgoodleafs]

Why? I'm not suggesting you're wrong, but what makes you presume that to be the case?

Just going by what Keefe says and acknowledging that he has work to do on defence and skating. One year isn't a lot of time to do that and the Leafs want players to step in when they are 100% ready.