RD Thimo Nickl - AIK, HockeyAllsvenskan (2020, 104th, ANA; traded to PIT)
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hey everyone,
nickl played for our 2nd team and i think he's very good. Don't read into the statline all too much, KAC2 was one of only 2 farm teams in that Alps Hockey League, the others being semi- professional teams from Italy, Slovenia and Austria.
AlpsHL represents the second highest league for Austrian teams and basically the highest for Italy (minus Bolzano who play in EBEL Austrias first league) and Slovenia.
KAC2 was pretty much in the doghouse for the last 2 seasons finishing dead-last two years ago and second to last past season, but showing improvements. Part of that was ofc because of the average age being 19.xx something vs men and large roster fluctuations due to injury ( Nickl himself missed significant amount of time too) throughout both years on the first and second team.
For Nickl, i love his play, i think hes bit of a lanky guy (you North Americans sure know how to "correct" that ) but is a smooth skater, has great vision and reads the play very well. Hes responsible in the own end, not afraid to carry the puck and will find his teammates when open. I cant say much about his shot, it clearly was one of the better ones on the team but that for sure is no measue, and there probably is some work to do. He is calm and plays without hesitation, and is poised to be a PP quarterback imho.
He also made his debut for our first team, altho only in last years pre season games, where he was given a look playing at the first line vs Slovakian powerhouse Banska Bystrica, which was where he impressed me most, when he didnt change his game at all and was still making the plays on a totally different level of competition.
All in all I see him becoming a top pairing national team defenseman for Austria (being notoriously thin on d) if things work out well, and i hope he fares well and gets drafted.
As you can see i am pretty high on him, since it doesnt happen every year that a player from our club makes the jump, let alone becoming drafted, so bear with me! I'd be glad to hear some feedback on his performance from guys who have the chance to attend some games, tho it seems as the fanbase is thinner than for OHL teams?
greets
nickl played for our 2nd team and i think he's very good. Don't read into the statline all too much, KAC2 was one of only 2 farm teams in that Alps Hockey League, the others being semi- professional teams from Italy, Slovenia and Austria.
AlpsHL represents the second highest league for Austrian teams and basically the highest for Italy (minus Bolzano who play in EBEL Austrias first league) and Slovenia.
KAC2 was pretty much in the doghouse for the last 2 seasons finishing dead-last two years ago and second to last past season, but showing improvements. Part of that was ofc because of the average age being 19.xx something vs men and large roster fluctuations due to injury ( Nickl himself missed significant amount of time too) throughout both years on the first and second team.
For Nickl, i love his play, i think hes bit of a lanky guy (you North Americans sure know how to "correct" that ) but is a smooth skater, has great vision and reads the play very well. Hes responsible in the own end, not afraid to carry the puck and will find his teammates when open. I cant say much about his shot, it clearly was one of the better ones on the team but that for sure is no measue, and there probably is some work to do. He is calm and plays without hesitation, and is poised to be a PP quarterback imho.
He also made his debut for our first team, altho only in last years pre season games, where he was given a look playing at the first line vs Slovakian powerhouse Banska Bystrica, which was where he impressed me most, when he didnt change his game at all and was still making the plays on a totally different level of competition.
All in all I see him becoming a top pairing national team defenseman for Austria (being notoriously thin on d) if things work out well, and i hope he fares well and gets drafted.
As you can see i am pretty high on him, since it doesnt happen every year that a player from our club makes the jump, let alone becoming drafted, so bear with me! I'd be glad to hear some feedback on his performance from guys who have the chance to attend some games, tho it seems as the fanbase is thinner than for OHL teams?
greets
There are plenty of Drummondville and QMJHL fans on the internet that will be ready to give you an update on Nickl this coming season. Him being 2020 eligible will surely bring a lot of attention to his game. This thread should be pretty busy in the coming months.
Unfortunately, Drummondville won't be a very good team this season, and is predicted by many to finish in the bottom-5 of the league. They lost many good players, including Team Canada captain Maxime Comtois, and top goaltender Olivier Rodrigue. They will be rebuilding, thus Nickl should see plenty of ice time, probably on the first pairing all year long. Updates should follow in October or November.
Cheers mate!
singlesliceofcheese
Registered User
- May 9, 2018
- 220
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@NA Scouting ok, thanks for your reply, i will stick around here then. I probably was petted by the 67´s game day coverage.
Well you can count on Rossi probably, Nickl might have a chance if things go well, but if that gap is to decline i fear it has to happen on Switzerlands end of things. For Austria, the number of NHLers will probably go down as soon as this year...
singlesliceofcheese
Registered User
- May 9, 2018
- 220
- 107
Rossi could be a top-10 pick in a stacked draft, so that's never a bad thing. Austria could keep all three players from last year. Switzerland lost (or could lose) a couple of players; Andrighetto, Sbisa, and anything could happen with Malgin. Austria needs to confer opportunities to their younger talent if they are to inch up on the gap. Switzerland hasn't been doing too well in this department, but then again, their professional league is much better than Austria's.
I saw Nickl play yesterday night. While not specifically watching him, I did notice that he is very mobile and active on the powerplay. His shot seems very good as he blasted a perfect slapshot over the shoulder of the opposing goalie to score. Seems like he will be a prominent figure on the weaker-than-average Drummondville D this season. Again, I wasn't specifically scouting him so I can't go into detail on how he played, but I did like what I saw
Hey guys,
anyone who can provide an update?
Haven't been able to follow closely, Nickl and also Hochegger couldnt come thru on the scoresheet so far as i've seen, what about line combinations and deployment?
Thanks!
anyone who can provide an update?
Haven't been able to follow closely, Nickl and also Hochegger couldnt come thru on the scoresheet so far as i've seen, what about line combinations and deployment?
Thanks!
I saw him twice this season and a bit in the off season as well.
Nickl has a hard time keeping the puck on his stick while skating with it. He caused many turnovers because he lost sight of the puck. He's having a hard time winning his battles in the end zone and sometimes makes questionnable plays. I think his confidence is pretty low right now, he'll need some time to adapt to the league and he'll be fine.
But as you said, he's got a pretty good iq, nice skating (he'll need to work on his edges though) and a pretty good shot. It's just a matter of getting his stuff together with him right now.
As for Hochegger, he's had a couple flashes, had pretty good chemistry with Dawson Mercer against Val d'Or but who wouldn't honestly, Mercer makes everyone look good while playing with him. With that said, he made some good passing plays and works hard in the corners. I really like his shot. Pretty hard wrister. He should use it way more often.
Both Nickl and Hochegger showed some grittiness at times (Nickl fought earlier this season when i was there, Hochegger almost did as well later in that game)
Hey, thanks alot!
Volts seem to put parts together in the last few games, managed some w's, with some points for the Austrian guys too!
Nickl with 2+3 in 10 now (good for 3rd amongst Volts D) and an ugly -5, Hochegger put up 4+5 in 10 with a +2 rating so far.
I just saw a replay of one of Nickls PP goals yesterday, was a nice onetimer from Ovies spot.
Has their personal play also improved over the last weeks, after your impressions were, say mixed, so far at best? And what about line combos, Hochegger is listed as RW now on the LMJHQ stats page, they "ease him in" by letting him play wing so far (probably not on Mercers line anymore then)? He used to play C over here on our 2nd team.
Your observations of Nickl were a bit shocking to me, i hope he can sort it out because i believe he can't make use of good portions of his upside if his skating with the puck is lacking. Hope it might be issues with the narrower rink which he can adjust to quickly, sure less space to manouver out of the zone for him.
Thanks for keeping me updated guys!
IIRC, Hochegger did not play center at KAC. Perhaps occasionally, but certainly not regularly. He is a right winger, his play style would also not translate well to the center position either, which is why he's never put there.
Okay thanks, atleast i remember him playing C before, but maybe that was due to the absence of Obersteiner amongst others through large portions of last year.
Hard to say, he could slip besides the 4th round.
I saw him in over 10 games this year. I think he improved his offensive skill-set during the year and I believe he has upside to be a good puck moving/2nd pp player in the NHL. However, he is inconsistent in his zone and he has been regularly beat from the outside by faster forwards.
If you think he can improve in his own end, you might be willing to draft him in the 3rd round. However, if you're not convinced he can improve there, then he might be a late rounder on your list.
MMC
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SCampo98
Registered User
Anyone seen him play in Sweden or know how he's doing? He played a bit for the U20 team and played well and it seems he's not playing for the Rogle men's teams, with 0 points in 10 games. How's he looking so far? Would love to see him become a solid NHler one day.
From what I can tell, in almost every game he has dressed but not played. I saw one box score where he had two shifts. Rogle is playing today and Seider doesn't seem to be in their lineup so perhaps he'll actually get some ice time.
SCampo98
Registered User
Hmm, I wonder why they would call him up to the big club if they've barely played him over 10 games. I think he'd benefit much more from regular paying time with the junior club.
pgfan66
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- Jun 26, 2019
- 1,333
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SCampo98
Registered User
It's not too bad. He gets to practice daily with a professional team and all of the perks that come along with that.
Wattsburgh
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- Apr 3, 2023
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