Nino Niederreiter

Nino Niederreiter (born on September 8, 1992) is a Swiss ice hockey player currently playing for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He was selected fifth overall by the New York Islanders in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft making him the highest-drafted Swiss hockey player in NHL history.

Nino made his NHL debut with the Islanders early in the 2010–11 season before being returned to his junior club, the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL).

Prior to coming over to North America, he had played in the junior system of the Swiss team HC Davos and appeared in three playoff games for the senior club in 2010.

On June 30, 2013, Nino was traded to the Minnesota Wild on for Cal Clutterbuck and a third round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Junior Playing Career
Unlike many Swiss hockey players, Nino decided to play hockey in North American junior hockey to give him a better shot of making the National Hockey League (NHL).

Past Swiss first round draft picks Luca Cereda and Michel Riesen were known in hockey circles as "Swiss misses" as they never made an impact in the NHL.

He followed in the footsteps of his Swiss teammate and friend Luca Sbisa and declared himself eligible for the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft.

Nino was drafted by the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL and enjoyed success in his rookie year.

While playing with Portland, he was selected to play in the prestigious CHL Top Prospects Game to play for coach Bobby Orr.

After scoring a fantastic "trick shot" goal in the trick shot competition during the skills competition on January 20, 2010, Nino opened the scoring during the actual game the following day.

He scored with 2:38 remaining in the first period on top-ranked goaltender Calvin Pickard to give Team Orr a 1–0 lead at the break. Team Cherry would eventually win by a score of 4–2.

In his first season of North American play and rookie season for the Portland, Nino led the Winterhawks in goals scored with 36.

This was also good for 18th in the entire Western Hockey League and second amongst rookies.

Nino added 24 assists for 60 points on the season, good for fourth on the Winterhawks. He recorded a further 16 points in 13 playoff games, second best on the team.

The WHL recognised Nino by selecting him to the league's Western Conference Second All-Star Team.

The NHL Central Scouting Bureau predicted that he would become just the fourth Swiss ice hockey player be drafted in the first round in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

TSN hockey analyst Bob McKenzie believed that Nino could become the highest drafted Swiss player in history.

Nino was ranked 14th by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau amongst North American trained players in its midterm rankings.

The NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked him 12th in its final rankings for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Those predictions came to fruition when he was selected by the New York Islanders with the 5th pick.

Nino is now the earliest selected Swiss-born player in draft history (Michel Riesen had been selected 14th in 1997).

NHL Career
Nino was selected fifth overall by the New York Islanders and was the first European drafted (albeit that he was North American trained).

He began the 2010–2011 season at the NHL level with a three-year entry level contract.

When he made his debut on October 9, 2010, Nino was the youngest player in the history of the Islanders (Dave Chyzowski has previously been the youngest) and scored the first goal of his NHL career on October 13, 2010 against goalie Michal Neuvirth of the Washington Capitals.

With the goal, Nino (at the age of 18 years and 35 days old) became the youngest Islander and fifth youngest player of the expansion era (1967) to score an NHL goal.

The only younger players to score in the NHL since expansion were Alexander Barkov, Jr. (18 years, 31 days old), Grant Mulvey (18 years, 32 days old), Jordan Staal (18 years, 32 days old) and Patrick Marleau (18 years, 34 days old).

On October 28, 2010, the Islanders announced that they would return him to the Winterhawks for further development.

As he only played nine games in the NHL, Nino did not use up a year on his NHL contract. Had he played ten games, it would have counted as a full year.

With Portland, he enjoyed a career year with 41 goals and 29 assists for 70 points in 55 games.

Nino spent the 2011–2012 NHL season as a member of the Islanders, where he was used primarily on the fourth line to gain experience with defensive veterans Marty Reasoner and Jay Pandolfo.

As a result of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, he was assigned to the Islanders American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Following the conclusion of the lockout, Nino was not invited to the Islanders' training camp and he reportedly asked for a trade as a result.

The Islanders' GM Garth Snow indicated that the relationship between the player and the organization was fine, stating that "All conversations with players remain private, but I will say that Nino has never told me that he's unhappy."

On June 30, 2013, Nino was traded to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Cal Clutterbuck and the New Jersey Devils' third-round-pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Awards & Achievements

 * IIHF All-Star Team (2010)
 * WHL Western Conference Second All-Star Team (2010)

International Play
Nino first played in an international tournament when he took part in the 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships (held in Russia) for the Swiss national junior team. Switzerland finished eighth overall and Niederreiter scored two points in six games.

Next, he appeared at the 2009 edition of the tournament in the United States and recorded six points in six games, as the Swiss again finished eighth.

At the 2010 IIHF World U20 Championships, Nino led the Swiss team to an upset of the Russians by scoring two goals in a 3–2 victory.

His first goal came in the final minute of regulation play to send the game to overtime, and followed it with the overtime winner

Nino finished with six goals and four assists, good enough for seventh in the tournament. These feats led to him being selected to the tournament all-star team.

During the tournament, Nino and Nazem Kadri attracted attention for Kadri's refusal to shake hands with him after their semi-final game. Kadri did not elaborate on the specifics of what caused his refusal, but did absolve Niederreiter of using an ethnic slur, "Obviously, in big games like that, guys tend to lose their composure a bit, but I didn't take offence to anything he said. It was just that I felt like I didn't have to shake his hand."

Kadri later had second thoughts about his refusal, saying: "I regret it a little bit."