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- Sep 18, 2006
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Deserves a thread as a likely mid-round selection come June.
Slides in as my 27th rated WHL prospect for the 2015 NHL Draft. Full list can be found here: http://whl-from-above.blogspot.ca/2015/05/final-whl-rankings-2015-nhl-draft.html
#27 Andrew Nielsen
Team: Lethbridge Hurricanes
Position: D
Shoots: L
Height: 6’3
Weight: 207
GP: 59
Goals: 7
Assists: 17
Points: 24
Pts/Gm: 0.40
PIM: 101
Player Analysis: Andrew Nielsen is a big and rugged two-way blueliner for the Lethbridge Hurricanes…generates plenty of power with his big legs but doesn’t have the prettiest stride…footwork and edges are a bit clunky from time to time but does a decent job getting from point A to point B…speed both forwards and backwards is fairly passable for this stage of his development as a WHL rookie…has a look to him like he has really big feet, which doesn’t help the optics of his overall mobility…has a bit of a rigid and stiff look to his lower body movement at times…lack of overall pure speed and flair in his skating gets made up for with a long reach and good stick…will need to work on his consistency when it comes to reading and reacting to transition plays…had some viewings where he was fantastic in his defensive posture and reaction time but had other games where he was chasing and a step behind the play…plays with an edge and has the size and strength to back it up…isn’t a guy that will lead the rush but does a fairly good job on the offensive side of the puck…can execute clean and simple outlets when given time and space…consistency in his play with the puck will be another area he should improve with more minutes at this level…owns a big shot and should have no issue nearly doubling his goal totals next season…slowly grew his role on the team this year, eventually getting to the point where he was quite clearly the Hurricanes top defender despite being a late-blooming rookie…regularly faced the toughest matchups with plenty of starts in his own zone…saw time both on the powerplay and penalty kill…is a definite late bloomer who needs to have many of his skills refined and polished, but the base exists here…is a late 1996-born player…won the Hurricanes Community Relations Award this season…his 7 goals were good enough to be ranked 9th among all first-year draft-eligible WHL blueliners…scored 4.19% of all Lethbridge Hurricanes goals in 2014-15, the 6th best mark of any first-year draft-eligible WHL defender…was undrafted in the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft, rather being listed by the Hurricanes later down the line…overall I see Nielsen as a big and strong kid who has intriguing tools and was able to stand out despite tough minutes and a tough situation in Lethbridge…I think he has legitimate NHL potential, although he could take some time to develop…at the next level I feel he will be counted on as a defensive player first and foremost, while still possessing the ability to chip in offensively from time to time…I project him as a good #4 style defender at his NHL peak if development goes well and I feel that he’ll come off the board in the 4th round range come June’s NHL Draft, even though I would rate him roughly a round lower than that right now…
Slides in as my 27th rated WHL prospect for the 2015 NHL Draft. Full list can be found here: http://whl-from-above.blogspot.ca/2015/05/final-whl-rankings-2015-nhl-draft.html
#27 Andrew Nielsen
Team: Lethbridge Hurricanes
Position: D
Shoots: L
Height: 6’3
Weight: 207
GP: 59
Goals: 7
Assists: 17
Points: 24
Pts/Gm: 0.40
PIM: 101
Player Analysis: Andrew Nielsen is a big and rugged two-way blueliner for the Lethbridge Hurricanes…generates plenty of power with his big legs but doesn’t have the prettiest stride…footwork and edges are a bit clunky from time to time but does a decent job getting from point A to point B…speed both forwards and backwards is fairly passable for this stage of his development as a WHL rookie…has a look to him like he has really big feet, which doesn’t help the optics of his overall mobility…has a bit of a rigid and stiff look to his lower body movement at times…lack of overall pure speed and flair in his skating gets made up for with a long reach and good stick…will need to work on his consistency when it comes to reading and reacting to transition plays…had some viewings where he was fantastic in his defensive posture and reaction time but had other games where he was chasing and a step behind the play…plays with an edge and has the size and strength to back it up…isn’t a guy that will lead the rush but does a fairly good job on the offensive side of the puck…can execute clean and simple outlets when given time and space…consistency in his play with the puck will be another area he should improve with more minutes at this level…owns a big shot and should have no issue nearly doubling his goal totals next season…slowly grew his role on the team this year, eventually getting to the point where he was quite clearly the Hurricanes top defender despite being a late-blooming rookie…regularly faced the toughest matchups with plenty of starts in his own zone…saw time both on the powerplay and penalty kill…is a definite late bloomer who needs to have many of his skills refined and polished, but the base exists here…is a late 1996-born player…won the Hurricanes Community Relations Award this season…his 7 goals were good enough to be ranked 9th among all first-year draft-eligible WHL blueliners…scored 4.19% of all Lethbridge Hurricanes goals in 2014-15, the 6th best mark of any first-year draft-eligible WHL defender…was undrafted in the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft, rather being listed by the Hurricanes later down the line…overall I see Nielsen as a big and strong kid who has intriguing tools and was able to stand out despite tough minutes and a tough situation in Lethbridge…I think he has legitimate NHL potential, although he could take some time to develop…at the next level I feel he will be counted on as a defensive player first and foremost, while still possessing the ability to chip in offensively from time to time…I project him as a good #4 style defender at his NHL peak if development goes well and I feel that he’ll come off the board in the 4th round range come June’s NHL Draft, even though I would rate him roughly a round lower than that right now…
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