C Theodor Niederbach - Frölunda HC, SWE JRs (2020, 51st, DET)

[VictorLustig]

Center who missed about 15 months of hockey with a knee injury. He's been tearing it up with Frölunda J18 this pre-season and will probably play with their J20 team very soon. Saw him play today and didn't expect much but he looked great, grown a bit too. The hands, hockey sense and scoring touch is still clearly there.

Theodor Niederbach at eliteprospects.com

Click to read more...

 

[theslatcher]

Gotten to play with the J20 team in the RS so far, will be interesting to see where he goes from here.

 

[VictorLustig]

3 pts in 3 J20 games so far. Looked pretty good the one game I watched. Really smart, active in the offensive zone, finds the dangerous areas. Skating well too. Execution hasn't been there yet though. Will probably take off even more once he gets smarter guys to play with. I expect him to be a dominant player by the end of this season, if not earlier.

 

[OiledUp]

Yeah due to his injury trouble a real sleeper for the draft. Pretty much has a first round skillset if being out for such a long time hasn’t set him back too much.

 

[Aahlstroem]

2+8 in 9 games with J20 now, six of his points in PP. Tied 4th in points for Frölunda J20. He has basically jumped from U16 to J20, that's impressive.

 

[theslatcher]

With Henriksson gone, it should mean he gets to play C full-time, maybe even getting to center Raymond.

 

[B Boarding]

With Henriksson gone, it should mean he gets to play C full-time, maybe even getting to center Raymond.

I hope so. I don't like the ongoing trend in Swedish hockey to put all the skilled forwards on the wing and just develop "safe" centers.

 

[theslatcher]

I hope so. I don't like the ongoing trend in Swedish hockey to put all the skilled forwards on the wing and just develop "safe" centers.

Aaand instead they move Isac Andersson from the first line wing to C. Fantastic. And put Granath on the other wing for Niederbach, & Hallén.

 

[VictorLustig]

I hope so. I don't like the ongoing trend in Swedish hockey to put all the skilled forwards on the wing and just develop "safe" centers.

It's been like that for a while unfortunately. As a result, our center depth is going to be exceptionally mediocre the next couple of WJC tournaments. Niederbach is a natural center.

 

[Zaddy]

 

[Zaddy]

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

3+2 in 4 games at the recent U18-tournament.

 

[theslatcher]

3+2 in 4 games at the recent U18-tournament.

His last 2 games at the tournament had him back to playing C, and he has gotten to play C in SuperElit ever since, too. And who would have thought he'd play better at C and produce more?

 

[JimboA]

 

[tony d]

Nice goal for sure, could be a late round gem this year for the team that picks him.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Nice goal for sure, could be a late round gem this year for the team that picks him.

He won't make it to the late rounds. I don't think he'll get out of the second round and he might not get out of the first.

 

[LastWordArmy]

After missing the entire 2018-19 season due to a knee injury, Swedish centre Theodor Niederbach came back with a huge season in his draft year. Playing in the Frolunda system, he started in the Swedish Under-18 league and was dominant. In 14 games, Niederbach scored 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points. He also played one playoff game in the league, scoring two goals and four points. Clearly too advanced for the league, he was moved up to the Swedish Under-20 league, the SuperElit. He continued to put up strong production, scoring 15 goals and 33 assists for 48 points in 40 games. Niederbach also spent time with the Swedish Under-18 national team. In eight games he scored four goals and seven points.

In 2017-18, Niederbach was an elite player in the Swedish Under-16 league. He led the league in goals (35), assists (38), and of course points (73), doing so in just 24 games played. He also put up four goals and two assists for six points in three playoff games. Niederbach also played nine games for the Swedish Under-16 national team scoring five goals and six points. Niederbach’s twin brother, Adam Niederbach also plays in the Frolunda system.

Our Scouting Report
https://lastwordonhockey.com/2020/05/19/theodor-niederbach-scouting-report/

 

[PuckPoise]

This strikes me as a player that will go earlier than most rankings have him. Scouts love these guys who finish strong after being injured or being promoted late. I agree with PB above that he will be a top 62 player.

 

[Appleyard]

 

[Baaaaaaaaaaaaah]

He had Osteochondritis. That's more like a condition/disease than injury. Anyone have any experience or knowledge on full recovery rates? Seems to have top 45 talent but how much of a red flag should this be?

 

[Appleyard]

He had Osteochondritis. That's more like a condition/disease than injury. Anyone have any experience or knowledge on full recovery rates? Seems to have top 45 talent but how much of a red flag should this be?

While he has had surgery I believe in theory it "could" flare up again in the future. But this season it did not cause any problems and he looked pretty good from early in the year. (though really started to shine when moved from wing to C.)

 

[theslatcher]

While he has had surgery I believe in theory it "could" flare up again in the future. But this season it did not cause any problems and he looked pretty good from early in the year. (though really started to shine when moved from wing to C.)

OCD seems to also be something that just recently has developed treatments that work well at least short-term, we kind of don't know long-term because, well, they're fairly new.

As for NHL players, Mattias Janmark is the only one who has had it AFAIK, and the two seem to have had a very similar experience with it post-surgery.

 

[Kipper933]

Despite missing a year of hockey at 16/17, he looks really powerful on his skates and is good at maintaining puck control while using his speed. I question his ability to score a bit, but his playmaking and puckhandling down low, especially on the man advantage, really stand out.

I think he's late 1st quality player, or at least an early 2nd.

 

[Scintillating10]

Be good pick for Habs in 2nd round. We have 3 picks

 

[theslatcher]

Will play in a pre-season game today for Frölunda's men's team.