Red Wings prospect and 2020 draft pick Theodor Niederbach has been tearing up the Swedish J20 league, posting 22 points in 13 games for the Frolunda Indians. This morning, MLive’s Ansar Khan profiles the Wings’ second-round pick:
“Every time I talked to Hakan (Andersson, Detroit’s director of European scouting) and discussed Niederbach with our other Swedish scout, Thomas Carlsson, the one thing they kept coming back to was how creative and how smart of a hockey player he was,” [Red Wings director of amateur scouting Kris] Draper said. “He has to get bigger and stronger, but we’ve been able to watch a lot of video on him because (their season) started, and this guy can do some special things with the puck. So, the things that really attracted us to him were his playmaking ability and hockey sense.”
Niederbach (5-11, 172) tied for ninth in Sweden’s top junior league with 48 points (including 15 goals) in 40 games in 2019-20. He is off to a strong start this season, with seven goals and 22 points in 13 games.
“We like that he’s very smart, he’s got really good skills, he’s a smooth skater,” Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said. “As an 18-year-old, 19-year-old, we’re hoping like most of them at 23 or 24 that they’re a little bit heavier, a little bit thicker, and more powerful.”
The Red Wings aren’t concerned that Niederbach missed the 2018-19 season due to a knee injury. Yzerman does not expect the injury to have a long-term effect.
“Guys get hurt at all different levels, at all different ages,” Yzerman said. “If anything, it delays things a little bit for him, just in getting up to speed, getting that full season of experience of playing.”
Continued; Niederbach’s playing alongside his brother, Adam, on Frolunda J20 team; I always take Under-20 stats with a grain of salt as they’re essentially the equivalent of playing in the Canadian Hockey League, but it is encouraging to see Theodor post the kinds of numbers he’s posting thus far.
