Scott Niedermayer, HHOFer

[vadim sharifijanov]

i wanted to start a new thread, instead of posting this in the original one, because on HHOF induction day -- one of my favourite days of the hockey year -- i'd like to celebrate the guys i grew up watching and admiring for what they were, instead of what they weren't. yes, niedermayer is ridiculously overrated, and yes some of us who were rooting for him were often frustrated that he just didn't seem to be able to put it all together until the '03 playoffs. but he was also an amazing player and a guy i loved watching from when he was a draft-eligible teenager. watching him in the 2003 finals break up opposing rushes like it was nothing and then in the same motion skating the puck up past his own blueline to safety before executing a simple but effective outlet to his forwards was a thing of beauty. not as eye-catching as leetch's end-to-end rushes or stevens killing guys, but in its own way up there with those two guys' conn smythe runs.

i've read a lot of articles this week about chelios, shanahan, and niedermayer. here are some interesting highlights about niedermayer coming up under ken hitchcock in kamloops, then entering the league under the tutelage of the soviet machine, the habs tradition, and scotty stevens. of particular interest, what he says about his early battles with jacques lemaire, and what those formative experiences meant to his career now as he looks back on them--

"Kamloops was such a great organization with great coaches and players," said Niedermayer, who had Ken Hitchcock and Tom Renney as head coaches there and played alongside the likes of Darryl Sydor, Corey Hirsch and Darcy Tucker. "Already I had been fortunate before even getting to the NHL, had the opportunity to be in good situations and learn and understand and build confidence that if you did things the right way, you could win."

"As a young D-man, I really could not have asked for a more perfect situation, first year in the NHL to be playing alongside so many great veterans, just watching what they did," Niedermayer said. "[Slava] Fetisov and [Alexei] Kasatonov were there, I roomed and played with Scott Stevens, Ken Daneyko, Bruce Driver; that's a pretty impressive list of accomplished, veteran defensemen. You couldn't have picked a better situation. Just another blessing in my career."

"Really, if I'm honest and I look back at the whole projection of things early in my career, there were definitely times where I was frustrated and I wasn't happy with my situation; a young player that probably thought he knew more than I did," Niedermayer said. "I had no complaints in the first few years because I was just happy to be in the NHL, but as a few years went by, maybe around 1996 or '97, Lemaire was there and we were still playing the same way and I wanted more offensively, I felt I could contribute more, and I really sort of butted heads with him for a while."

Lemaire also recalls that period.

"Nieder had the press that was putting in his mind that he's an offensive player and I was holding him back and I think at the time he started to believe that," Lemaire told ESPN The Magazine's Craig Custance recently. "He felt he could be a better offensive player if I would just let him go and not correct the defensive part of his game.

"You know what, at times, when you get older you start to realize that it's not only offense that wins games. You got to play well defensively. When you do, you do have less pressure on you. You can play both side of the ice."

Indeed, as the years have gone on, Niedermayer looks back at that time in a different light, appreciating what Lemaire was doing.

"Now that I look where I'm at, you look at it from a different angle and can appreciate his stubbornness and his beliefs in how he wanted things done," Niedermayer said. "I know I benefited, and our team benefited, from learning to play that way.

"I thought I knew everything then but I didn't. Sure it would have been nice to score a couple more goals, but I wouldn't change a thing. I learned a lot and I'm thankful for it. I can tell my younger self that now."

Lemaire, in kind, leaves no doubt where he views Niedermayer as a player.

"His skating ability was over 95 percent of the guys in the league," said the former coach and Hall of Fame player in his own right. "I remember at a time when he started to be better defensively and realized that it was important, I used to tell him, 'Hey, you can go behind the net, I know you're capable of coming back.' He knew the importance of that time, how important it was to play good defensively. Then he would move up, if we lose the puck, he'd just curl and come back and with his speed, he was back in the play.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/9923904/2013-hockey-hall-fame-winning-followed-scott-niedermayer

Niedermayer credits Stevens with helping him as a young NHL defenseman.

"For me, as a kid coming into the league, to be able to play alongside him and other guys like Dano (Ken Daneyko) and Bruce Driver and (Viacheslav) Fetisov was perfect. I don’t know if you can devise a better situation for a young D-man," he said.

"Playing with Scotty for those couple of years he definitely had a presence on the ice. I was able to go about my business and not be bothered. He was there to clean up any messes and anything I got myself into or put the team into."

"There were growing pains," Brodeur said. "This guy was giving up the puck and making a lot of mistakes early on his career. He learned, under Larry (Robinson) early when he was young, and playing with Scotty for all those years. He became one of the best two-way defensemen you could ever have. He killed penalties. He was on the power play. … It’s pretty amazing what he was able to do."

Said Stevens: "It was probably a good thing for him to get a little structure. He was so gifted and had the speed and skating ability. I think he focused a little more on defense and became a much better all-around defenseman under Jacques (Lemaire). …

"Jacques had a good way of giving guys the best jobs suitable for them that they could succeed at and help the team. I guess I was probably more of a shutdown guy. That’s what makes championship teams. Sacrifices. Everybody has to sacrifice. ‘Nieder’ made sacrifices maybe on the offensive side at times to win, too. That’s why he won the Stanley Cups he did."

http://www.nj.com/devils/index.ssf/...playing_career_made_everything_look_easy.html

When Niedermayer first joined the Devils after they drafted him third overall in 1991, however, he was a world-class but raw talent. An effortless skater with eye-opening offensive skill, Niedermayer wanted to run free.

It took Jacques Lemaire’s coaching to rein him in and help him develop into a complete, Norris Trophy-winning defenseman. Niedermayer admits it wasn’t easy for him at first.

"We had some time where we were – or at least I was – a little frustrated and not necessarily totally buying into what he wanted," he said this week.

As time went on, though, Niedermayer slowly bought into what Lemaire and assistant coach Larry Robinson were teaching him.

"It definitely made me a better player later in my career from learning the tough lessons, learning the dirty work that has to be done if you want to win hockey games, especially in the playoffs," he said. "It’s easy, but you sit back now and you look at that situation and it might have been really almost the most important part of especially my NHL career going through that and learning those lessons and being able to at some point accept them and embrace them."

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/2...r_credits_Devils_coaches_for_his_success.html

Click to read more...

 

[DevilzFan]

Great post. Scotty was an instant favorite of mine when he came to Jersey. Hell, I bought my first Niedermayer jersey in 1993.

There were times he made you pull your hair out, and then there were times he made you feel like there was no better player in the league. I feel very fortunately to have been able to see his entire career in New Jersey, and see what I could from his career in Anaheim.

His leaving for Anaheim stung, but it was for reasons I understood being close with my own brother. At the time I was pretty much the only one of my friends who didn't hate him for moving on to Anaheim. I'm glad he was able to fulfill his dream of playing and winning the Stanley Cup with his brother.

Say what you will, the man is a total class act. I'll never get tired of watching his old highlights, and I hope for nothing but the best for him. He gave me so many incredible memories, including 4 Stanley Cup Finals in New Jersey, winning 3 of them.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

While some overrate him due to his team accomplishments and skating abilities, I swear he never gets enough credit defensively. People often forget that he, and not Pronger, got the majority of the shutdown assignments during that cup run. That's why he won the Smythe, not to try and make up for 2003.

 

[Krishna]

One of my favorite d men ever. Who doesn't love a d man that can do everything

 

[Dissonance]

Fun piece about the hype around the 18-year-old Niedermayer at the Devils' 1992 training camp:

The New York Times
September 8, 1992, Tuesday, Late Edition - Final
At Devils' Practice, Two Early Standouts

Forty-three players divided into two groups today and skated in two sessions apiece on the first day of practice for the New Jersey Devils. But despite the crowd, the focus of attention was on Scott Niedermayer, a 19-year-old defenseman, and Coach Herb Brooks.

Brooks and Niedermayer will be the two most closely scrutinized during the early stages of the Devils' training camp, at least until the veterans take to the ice for the first time Saturday morning.

As the team's new coach, Brooks is expected to make the Devils a pioneer in the league's new era of more skating and less fighting.

Niedermayer was arguably the best defenseman in Canadian junior hockey last season as a member of the team in Kamloops, British Columbia. He was voted the most valuable player in the Memorial Cup competition, which was won by Kamloops, largely because of Niedermayer's leadership and offensive production.

The Devils hired Brooks last year but they asked him to coach their top affiliate in the minor leagues, the Utica Devils of the American Hockey League. They promoted him on June 5 to take the place of Tom McVie, now assistant coach with the Boston Bruins.

Brooks, who coached the United States to the gold medal in the 1980 Olympics, has put his mark on training camp by essentially closing practice to the public. Only six practices will be open to the public during training camp, and one of those will be a rookie game against the Rangers.

Making Comparisons

Niedermayer is the only player of the 43 in camp now who is certain to be with the team on opening day, against the Islanders at Byrne Meadowlands Arena on Oct. 6.

With Lou Lamoriello, the president and general manager, leading the way, the Devils have made it abundantly clear that Niedermayer belongs on the team. The Devils wanted him on the team so much that they traded Eric Weinrich to make room for Niedermayer, who has offensive attributes similar to those of the star National Hockey League defensemen, Brian Leetch and Paul Coffey.

"I haven't seen an 18-year-old with that kind of skating ability," Chris Terreri, the Devils' goaltender, said a year ago about Niedermayer, who participated in the Devils' 1991 camp. "I hate to compare him with Paul Coffey because it's so early, but that's exactly what he looks like to me."

Niedermayer, New Jersey's first choice in the 1991 draft, made the team last year but was sent back to his junior team early in the season because the Devils had seven established defensemen after the arrival of Scott Stevens.

"Going back to juniors was very good for me," Niedermayer said today. "I concentrated on my defensive duties and I also worked on getting a little stronger. I think I improved quite a bit this year."

Ready to Go

In 17 playoff games leading to the Memorial Cup, Niedermayer had 23 points from 9 goals and 14 assists. He was voted junior athlete of the year in British Columbia and was named an all-star on the first team of all junior leagues in Canada.

"I feel I'm physically and mentally ready for the N.H.L.," Niedermayer said. "I feel confident I'll have a good year and you can say that having Herb Brooks as my coach is part of my confidence. He likes players who skate."

The Devils gave Niedermayer a program for the off season, and he says he carried out his assignment to the letter. He said that his height is the same as last year, 6 feet, but that his muscle has replaced some fat in his 200 pounds.

And this piece, from a bit later in the season:

The New York Times
February 21, 1993, Sunday, Late Edition - Final
Devils Rally in Support of Niedermayer, a Speedster

Scott Niedermayer of the Devils displays such elegance with the puck that when he darts out of his zone to the other end of the ice he leaves hockey fans thinking that the price of admission is worth it.

Niedermayer was the third pick over all in the 1991 draft, after Eric Lindros and Pat Falloon, but he is in only in his first full season in the National Hockey League.

And already Niedermayer is being compared by hockey people with Paul Coffey and Brian Leetch, the league's speediest and most elusive and offense-minded defensemen.

The coaching staff, scouts and players of the Devils speak with admiration of 19-year-old Niedermayer's athletic gifts and character. They are convinced that the native of Edmonton, Alberta, will become one of the league's stars in the near future.

'The Right Attitude'

Scott Stevens, Niedermayer's defensive partner this season, is one of the most generous in his evaluation of Niedermayer, whose family now resides in Cranbrook, British Columbia, where his father, Bob, practices medicine.

"He has the ability and the right attitude to be one of the league's great players," Stevens said of Niedermayer. "I know people have compared him to Paul Coffey, but I look at him to be an all-round defenseman, like Ray Bourque."

Bourque is the perennial all-star defenseman of the Boston Bruins.

Niedermayer is just starting to employ his primary strength: venturing into the attacking zone. In the first 50 games of the season, his coaches and more-experienced teammates made it their priority to teach him the difficult part of the job: defense.

"I've spent the biggest part of the season concentrating on improving my defensive play," said Niedermayer, who is so clean-cut and polite that he projects a sort of boy-next-door image.

"I'm just starting to go up a little," he said, referring to his efforts at attack.

Dangerous on Offense

On Friday night, Niedermayer went in on the attack to score the Devils' goal in what turned out to be a 3-3 deadlock with the Buffalo Sabres. It was his fifth goal of the season -- he also has 17 assists -- and helped the Devils (28-24-5) stay unbeaten in their last four games (3-0-1). The Devils' next game is at home Sunday against Qubec.

The Devils are a much more exciting team when Niedermayer carries the puck out from his zone. He is able to play with his head up as he carries the puck, so he usually picks an appropriate option, and that makes the Devils more dangerous offensively.

Stick-handling and speed are Niedermayer's biggest assets. And his speed is the foremost reasons that the coaches have started to give him the freedom to get more involved on offense.

"You can do that with people who have great speed," said Dave Farrish, the top assistant to Herb Brooks. "Speed can help you recover from many things and Scotty has the speed and maturity to know when to use it."

And He's Docile, Too

From Brooks to Farrish to Doug Sulliman, the other assistant coach, everyone around the Devils agrees that another of Niedermayer's attributes is that he is coachable.

"He listens very carefully and he absorbs what he hears," Farrish said. "He absorbs things very fast. He also asks the right questions."

Niedermayer not only asks the right questions he even takes notes. No wonder he rarely repeats a mistake.

"Scotty is becoming a great player," said defenseman Aleksei Kasatonov. "He has a big future and a big heart."

Kasatonov showed more heart than anyone when Niedermayer scored his first goal in the league, in a 6-1 victory at San Jose that ended a three-game trip Nov. 17. When the team returned home, Niedermayer found a bottle of champagne in his locker, courtesy of Kasatonov.

"Everybody has been so helpful," Niedermayer said. "Even the Russian guys, like Slava and Kazzie," he said, referring to Slava Fetisov and Kasatonov. "They don't speak great English, but they'll point things out to me. They're great players and great human beings."

Brooks and his assistants have private discussions with each player after 10-game segments.

"He did well for the most part in the first 40 games," Farrish said. "He had one stretch that he was going really well. Then, he went down a little, which is natural."

The coaches' discussion with Niedermayer after 50 games centered on how he can move up to the next level of play.

 

[90sKid*]

While some overrate him due to his team accomplishments and skating abilities, I swear he never gets enough credit defensively. People often forget that he, and not Pronger, got the majority of the shutdown assignments during that cup run. That's why he won the Smythe, not to try and make up for 2003.

very true, congrats to Scott Niedermayer!