Matz03
Registered User
I'm actually excited to see Nieves play some preseason games with NHL regulars. I think that might give us a glimpse of what his upside could be. He should no doubt get top 6 minutes in the AHL on what might be a more talented and skilled, though a younger team.Not sure how Nieves is going to turn out. I don't see him as 4th line material. He's built and plays somewhat similar to Petr Nedved IMO--he's a tall rangy guy--a terrific skater who is very nifty with the puck whether stick handling or passing. He seems to have a problem finishing.
His rookie season at Michigan U.--he was 4th on the team in scoring with 8 goals and 21 assists in 40 games. As a by the way three forwards who finished below him in scoring for Michigan U. that year Phil DiGiuseppe, Andrew Copp and Zach Hyman have all gone on to the pros and played in the NHL.
His sophomore year he was 6th on his team in points--his production though regressed to 3 goals and 19 assists. 3 goals in 34 games IMO was not good. My concern over his ability to finish started right here.
His third year--he was 5th on his team in scoring. 7 goals and 28 points in 35 games. As an upperclassman now he's pretty much solidified a job on the team's second line. It's okay but at the same time it's a bit underwhelming and the goal numbers are still low.
Last year as a senior he came his closest to a point a game and actually got to double figures in goals. He was 7th on his team in scoring with 10 goals and 21 assists in 35 games.
To me it was a somewhat disappointing college career. It started off promisingly enough with a good rookie season--regressed in his sophomore year and his numbers plateaued more than less in his junior and senior years. He went from 4th in scoring as a freshman to 6th to 5th to 7th for his Michigan U. team. OTOH he did pretty well in the final couple of weeks of the Hartford Wolfpack season.
He's always been an offensive player. Red Berenson schools his kids well at Michigan U. He certainly should be a prepared player with an idea of his defensive responsibilities but he's a skill guy---not a grind guy. He's not 4th line material. That argument works much much better for Fogarty--it doesn't really work for Nieves. His strong finish in Hartford was encouraging to me. He's obviously on a level above Michael St. Croix. I expect him to be in Hartford next year and we'll see what happens.
No reason to write him off yet, I think the grinding ability is overrated in today's NHL for bottom six forwards. If he can prove to be an effective two way player, play the pk, he could be a complimentary 3rd liner or even a 4th liner. With the very limited prospect pool of guys pushing for NHL jobs, he might even see a call up as soon as this season. AV has a hard on for guys that can skate.