Nino Niederreiter : Are his defensive skills underrated?

[Dylonus]

Something I noticed a lot of scouts never talked about was Niederreiters defensive ability. Mind you, I never read or heard anyone blast him, or say he's weak in the defensive aspect, but I've never heard anyone praise it much either.

Perhaps it's just me, but is he proving otherwise in the WJC? Last night he looked great defensively especially, and in my opinion, has looked that way all tournament. His defensive awareness looked great, he was making some nice hits, and playing the board pretty well.

Is it just me, or does El Nino have an extremely underrated set of defensive skills that need to be discussed in the future?

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[The Vinstar]

Agree, i saw him play slovakia liveand he wasgreat in his own end, plus he touched my hand 4 times. it waslife.

 

[R S]

No, they aren't.

He was known as being maybe the most complete player in the draft last year in regards to playing two way, physical hockey. It's part of the reason he was drafted so high.

 

[Islanderfan17]

His defense has been great in the WJC, which is great because it's hard to see his offense too often on a Swiss team that doesn't generate much offense.

 

[Barzilla]

Hes got the size, glad to see he isnt some soft euro. I hope his offense will click in the NHL and he doesnt turn into a 3rd line goon.