Nino No Mas; Isles Return Rookie to Juniors

  The New York Islanders have announced rookie forward Nino Niederreiter, who was drafted 5th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been returned to his junior club of Portland.

“I think he looked at it as (the decision) could go either way,” said Islanders head coach Scott Gordon. “And really, that’s how we felt the entire time; it could go either way.”

  The 18-year old appeared in 9 games, the maximum amount of games played before a team must make a decision on an entry-level player, impressing greatly with one goal, one assist, and 8 Penalty minutes. *NHL teams essentially have nine games to evaluate a recent draft pick before making a decision about his future. Once a player appears in his 10th game, it burns the first year of his entry-level contract. While he can still be sent back to junior after that, it rarely happens.

“I had a great experience up here, and I was really happy to be here,” Niederreiter said. “I think it’s better to go back to juniors, get a little bit more experience of being a big leader up there. In the end, I think it’s the right decision.”

  The Swiss born future star was rightfully disappointed to not stick with his new NHL club, but took the news maturely, professionally and soundly. Combined with his ethic at the NHL level was his positive outlook on the situation, GM and head coach Mike Johnston of the Portland Winterhawks happily slotted him into Friday night’s game against Kelowna just the day after he was returned to the club.

"I talked to him (Thursday) when he was at the airport in New York and I thought he sounded a little bit down, a little bit discouraged," Johnston said Friday from Portland. "When I met with him this morning, he had already been with his teammates for a half hour and he had a big smile on his face. We talked about what he learned, what were the best parts of being in the NHL."

"He's excited about being back here, he knows he's got some things to work on and he's also pretty excited he had nine games in the NHL as an 18-year-old."

  Last season, his first in the WHL, Niederreiter tallied 36 goals and 24 assists for 60 points, with a +11 rating and 68 PIMs in 65 games for Portland. In 13 post-season games, Nino scored 8 goals and 8 assists with a +1 rating and 16 PIMs. Despite not scoring in 4 World Championship games for Switzerland last year, his World Junior Championship numbers are solid through 7 games, notching 6 goals and 4 assists for 10 points.

"It is not an exact science," said Johnston, a former assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks. "We've all witnessed both sides of it. It's a matter of the organization making the right decision for the right reasons. ... Obviously, guys like (Kings defenceman) Drew Doughty, they're ready to play.

"There's certain players that can step in and they're going to play good minutes, they're going to handle the puck, they're going to maintain their confidence."

  While Niedereitter may not possess the requirements as of yet to stick in the NHL, but he did average 13:35 minutes per-game in the best league in the world quite respectably. He tallied his lone NHL goal, making him the fourth youngest player since 1967, and youngest in franchise history to light the lamp, matching the early starts of 2010 Draftees Jordan Eberle and Jeff Skinner.

“I think he could have success not being on the power play and being in a third line situation,” said Islanders head coach Scott Gordon. “He could work his way into that role, but we already have guys that are playing on the power play that have been successful. It’s not like we’re in a situation where you have a struggling power play and you need someone with some offensive abilities to add to the power play.”

  Nino will in fact be in the NHL at some point, but the truth is that the Islanders are not competing for a Cup at the moment, and have plenty of youth on the ice currently. Nino’s demotion is not of disappointment from the organization or himself, but a move of building, strengthening, and bettering the young Swiss forward through the league he played in last year.


  Head coach Mike Johnston is aware of the transition ahead of Nino.

"He's going from playing (at the Bell Centre) in Montreal to coming back to playing in Portland," said Johnston. "There is a bit of an adjustment period and there's a mental letdown. He's a very driven kid, very focused player and he wanted to play on the Island. He has a lot of confidence and since Aug. 20 when he went there, he was focused on making that team."

"Now he hasn't made it, he's got to switch gears and jump back into junior."

  While the transition may be tough, Portland is thrilled to have him back.

"To be honest, we weren't really sure what was going to happen until early yesterday morning," said Johnston.
"It was pretty exciting for us. It's great for our team, our organization."

"But in the end, from my perspective, we still wanted what was best for Nino."

  Nino’s experience has been great, having received praise from management, coaching staff, and teammates, but is eager to get better – particularly offensively.

“I mean in the end, definitely the offensive skills,” Niederreiter said. “It’s hard to get scoring opportunities in the NHL. And if you get the puck, you just have to score, and I think that’s the biggest thing you have to learn here.”

  With Gordon’s assessments, and the fact that injured players such as Kyle Okposo and Trent Hunter set to return soon, Niederreiter has been sent packing for now – but keep a watchful eye for this kid next season, as he is set to be a key piece to returning Long Island to glory.

- Kendall Grubbs