Red Wings prospect Theodor Niederbach is on quite a tear in the Swedish Under-20 league, having posted 33 points in 17 games thus far. He’s received an invite to the Swedish World Junior Championship selection camp next week as a result, and he’s even earned his way up to the SHL as the Frolunda Indians’ 13th forward from time to time.
This morning, Niederbach spoke with HockeyNews.se’s Alexander Nilsson regarding his scintillating start, his recovery from injuries and more. What follows is roughly translated from Swedish:
Frölunda Talent about his points form, the Junior Kronor and the draft: “I’m really satisfied”
Theodor Niederbach’s autumn has offered the most.He’s rattling off points at a record speed in the J20 league, he has made his debut in the SHL, been drafted and most recently he earned a spot with the Junior Kronor.
“It will be instructive ,and you want to do it as well as possible, so maybe you can strengthen your chances to be able to participate in a potential World Junior Championship later on, he says to HockeyNews.se regarding his national team assignment that’s waiting around the corner.
After missing his entire rookie season as a junior due to osteochondritis[, a condition affecting bone cartilage,] Theodor Niederbach really took off during his last season in Frölunda.
On the J20 team, he posted a total of 48 points in 40 games, including hitting the J20 top 10, and on the J18 team, he scored a total of 26 points in 15 games, playoffs included.
He also posted also seven points in eight international games with Junior National Team.
This autumn, he has begun in a way where he looks to crush last season’s ranking in the J20 league.
After 17 games played, the native of Bjasta has posted 33 points. If he keeps up with the same points average in the team’s next 13 games on the J20 National before Christmas, he will finish with 58 points, even before any J20 game after Christmas.
“I am satisfied with my game, I have received the dividends I was hoping for. I think I had a good summer, where I was able to train well, and was able to work on the parts I wanted to get better at. I now feel that it [all] has produced results at the beginning of the season, so it just feels really good,” says Frolunda talent.His summer focus on getting faster has yielded results, and not just from fitness training.
“I received a special program that was focused on becoming faster, and I feel that, compared to last summer, I’ve been able to train well in a different way. Back then it was a bit unclear what I could do, but now I know what I can do it, and do everything, really,” he says.
The 18-year-old center is happy with his own performance, but he is at least as happy with the development he seems to see his team achieve.After 17 games played, Frölunda is in second place, with the same points as league-leading Linkoping, who, on the other hand, has played two fewer games, and has a better goal differential.
“It feels like we as a team have taken quite big steps in a fairly short time. It’s gone a bit up and down, but it feels like in the last week we have taken a big step as a team. Maybe we will have some slumps during the season, but hopefully we will come together as a team of finishers here,” he says.
What do you feel you have developed [as a team]?
“We play as a team. We do the work for each other, block shots and so on; we have taken that step forward.”
Frölunda’s J20 team is full of promising players.
For next week’s national team camp, in addition to Niederbach, the defenseman Simon Edvinsson will also be on the Junior Kronor team. And on the Junior Kronor team are goalkeeper Viggo Andren, defender Erik Fernhall and forward quartet of Fabian Lysell, Liam Dower Nilsson, Noah Hasa and Ludwig Persson.
“Now we have quite a few 2003’s, but they are good players, who are part of the national team, so we have a good team. We won’t lose because we don’t have the skills [necessary], but everyone should do the work for each other and we must come together as a team,” Niederbach says.
Niederbach was initially not headed tonational team games for the [upcoming] week, although the chance was there when he was with the team as a reserve, but after a teammate [Elmer Soderblom] fell, he received a call earlier this week from the national team GM Tomas Monten, stating that he should go to Malmo for three games against Finland.
That team also includes Frolunda’s SHL players Lucas Raymond and Karl Henriksson, as well as the loaned player Gustav Berglund.
“It’ll be fun. I have not been to anything with the under-20 team, and now it will be a bit special with how the situation is in society. It will be instructive, and you want to do it as well as possible, so maybe you can strengthen your chances to be able to participate in a potential World Junior Championship later on,” he says.
The progress in the under-20 team has also led to Niederbach feeling some hot air in the SHL.
During the pre-season he was up with the senior team for both practices and games, and during the fall there have been four games in the SHL, and on Thursday he got just over two-and-a-half minutes of ice time against Örebro.
“It has been both educational and very fun. There haven’t been many shifts, but just getting to know the environment is instructive. They are very serious, and have good players on the men’s team, so it’s an environment you learn a lot in,” he says, and he continues:
“[Coach] Roger (Ronnberg) says that he is happy with the game I displayed on the J20 team, and they want me to get to know the game as well, and not just sit on the bench during the games. They want to put me in as much as possible, so that I can feel the game, that’s what they want me to feel in the SHL, and what type of level it is.”Just under a month ago, the NHL draft also took place.
In addition to the fact that it took place much later during the year than usual, everything was also handled online.
However, that did not stop Detroit from replenishing the organization with the Swedish talent.
In the first round they took Lucas Raymond from Frölunda. In the second round, as player 51 in total, Niederbach was picked by the team which, in the last two drafts, took no less than four players from Frolunda. In the summer of 2019 both Elmer Söderblom and Gustav Berglund were picked.
“It is a very established team that is known for having had many Swedes, which is a good sign. And it’s just cool that there are many Frolunda-ites there as well. I’m really happy with being selected by Detroit,” says Niederbach.
Footnote: Frölunda’s Elmer Söderblom was originally included on the Junior Kronor’s team, but he was forced to withdraw [due to an injury].
