Hockeysverige.se’s Uffe Bodin conducted a lengthy interview with Red Wings prospect Theodor Niederbach, and here’s a rough translation of the Swedish-language interview:
“If it gets tougher, I usually think that ‘I can play hockey anyway'”
Theodor Niederbach discusses how patience has come to shape his young career.
For many young prospects, playing in the J20 National League is not enough. They want to go upward, forward and above all to be promoted as soon as possible. Frölunda’s center Theodor Niederbach has a different perspective on the matter. A serious knee injury early in his career has given him the realization that patience is a virtue.
“If you can learn to play a big role at the level you’re at, the next step will come automatically,” he surmises in an interview with Hockeysverige.se.
Malmo (HOCKEYSVERIGE.SE)
“It has gone pretty well right now in the beginning [of the season].”
“Decent” … Theodor Niederbach has been one of J20 National League’s most outstanding players during this fall with 35 points (13 goals and 22 assists) in 19 games. Second-highest of all in the highest Junior league. The Frolunda Center has also had time to make his SHL debut and was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings.
“Decent” sounds like a bit of an understatement to describe the last few months, but Niederbach is not someone who uses big words [to describe himself], either.
“I can’t say that everything’s gone right, but I feel that I was able to train well this summer, that I was able to work on the parts [of my game that] I needed to develop for this season. It has paid off. I am pleased with my start,” he continues when we meet in Malmö before Junior Crowns’ selection camp, prior to their rematch against Finland–which [ends up getting] canceled less than a day after the interview took place.
The 18-year-old’s opportunity to make his debut for Junior Crowns was thus missed.
If one is talking about a debut, one must instead focus on the four SHL games he has been a part of. Admittedly with a disappointing bit of ice time – an average of 1:20 per game–but still enough to have a sense of what it is about.
“It has been a bit at the end when there’s been a lack of [veterans]. There will not be very many shifts, but it is important to take advantage of the chances you get,” he says.
“There is of course a big difference compared to J20. The game is completely different, and you battle much stronger and more skilled players. But I still think that in the changes I have encountered, it has felt manageable, and I think that I have done quite well tactically. Then of course you want something to happen with the puck and so on, but you can almost count on it not being so much going on when you get fewer shifts at a higher level.”
“RELIEVED” THAT THE DRAFT IS COMPLETED
To dream of World Junior Championship games can feel remote for a smaller guy with limited SHL experience, who, due to prevailing circumstances, did not play any games under the leadership of national team coach Tomas Monten. When the Junior Crowns were to gather in Malmo last week, Theodor Niederbach only was named to the team after a number of other players had to opt out [due to injuries]. He has no disappointment regarding being left out of the original squad.
“There are many good players who are selected. I reckon that you can sometimes be ignored or punished. It’s something you have to take [in stride]. It’s just like with the A-team, it’s about making an impression when the chance comes. But it’s not that I got angry or that I did not get selected from the beginning,” says Niederbach who comes from Naske, outside Ornskoldsvik.
The Detroit Red Wings drafted Theodor Niederbach as the 51st player overall in the second round just over a month ago. It was the end of a protracted process that meant he was scouted and interviewed by NHL clubs for almost a year and a half.
“It started at the beginning of last season. By then, it had been expected that the draft would be over by mid-summer. Then there were interviews until the coronavirus became serious, and then they went over to video meetings. The idea was that I would have attended a combine, because then they usually have these conversations [there] as well. But it was via video link instead, and so the draft was moved to October. It took a bit of time to go through the whole process, so you had to take a few calls even after the summer. Once it was time, you could watch it on TV, but it was still a fun experience. Really fun and at the same time a little relief that the whole process was over.”
Did the draft feel like a disturbing moment because it was completed after the [J20 National League] season had started?
“No, the draft itself is not something you think about when you play, but then you will of course be reminded of it with all the conversations. For my part, nothing has bothered me during the season. I have been able to focus on my game.”
“COULD TRAIN WITHOUT THE GHOSTS IN YOUR HEAD”
This spring, Theodor Niederbach told us about his previous knee problems in an interview with hockeysverige.se. In short, it can be summed up by the fact that the youngster missed the entire 2018-19 season after suffering from osteochondritis, a condition that causes cartilage and bone fragments to become detached from the knee joint. This was fixed with an operation.
Of course, the NHL teams were very interested in knowing more about the injury before the draft.
“I would almost say that everyone had a question about the injury. This is of course understandable because they want to know what happened and how it was handled.”
Did you send hospital records and X-rays to the teams?
“Now I don’t know if everyone I talked to wanted them, but I know that some wanted X-rays and so on. The doctor who operated on me fixed it with the help of Frolunda’s [medical staff]. So it was nice of them.”
Are you fully recovered from the problems today?
“Yes, I can do everything with my body and so on. I train like everyone else and do all the exercises without problems. It was in the beginning, before I could go full steam ahead, where it was a little unclear what I could do off ice. But this summer I have been able to train well without having any ghosts in my head that bother me.”
This is confirmed by his performance on the ice. The national team captain Tomas Monten has above all noticed a significant difference.
“I think he is one of the players who felt good about having a long summer, and was able to train a lot. When he has played in the J20 National League, he has had a much better speed than he had last year. That’s what has been the key to his game. Then I think that for every game he has played, he has only gotten better, better and better. He continues to rise and gets no real dips,” says Monten with praise.
“NO PROBLEM TO PLAY IN J20”
What will be the next step for Theodor Niederbach, then?
Considering that Frölunda recently inked a contract agreement with Christoffer Ehn, it will be even more difficult for the talented center to earn playing time in the SHL.
Would a loan to the Hockeyallsvenskan [league] then be an alternative?
Well, it turns out that he feels some greater urgency to continue playing J20 hockey.
‘There has not been much talk about the Allsvenskan. It is of course something I have thought about a bit myself, but at the same time I don’t feel that it is a problem to play in the J20. I have the role I want, and am learning to take a leading role on the team as well. For my part, there have not been many thoughts of being loaned out, but then you never know. (Frolunda’s sports director Fredrik) Sjostrom and the others [in team management] may have other thoughts, but there has been no talk with me about it.”
So you feel no stress about “just” playing in the J20 National League?
“Absolutely not. I feel that J20 works for me. If you can continue to play the game you want, it’s just fine. I feel that in the J20 I can play my game, and of course, you might want to be loaned out and test at a higher level over the course of the long run, but for me there is nothing that has to be forced.”
It sounds like you have some patience.
“Yes, I feel that you should not force things. Of course you want to move forward all the time, but if you can learn to play a big role at the level you are at, the next step will come automatically.”
What you went through with the injury two years ago, what has it given you for perspective on hockey?
“I have been mentally strengthened by all of this. Once I got back to hockey, I appreciated it in a completely different way. You had, as it were, learned that you couldn’t take anything for granted, but you were just happy and grateful to be able to play hockey at all. You did not have to play at a certain level or so on. I can still get a lot of help from it. If it gets a little tougher in terms of play, I can look back to that time and get the feeling that ‘I can play hockey anyway.’ That’s what I took with me from this injury.”
THE HERCULES & MARKOOLIO BROTHERS
Finally, I am very curious to get an answer to a rather odd question.
The fact is that Theodor and his twin brother, Adam Niederbach, a defenseman on Frolunda’s J20 team, both have middle names that stand out.
Theodor has Hercules for his middle name, and Adam’s middle name is Markoolio.
How is it that [happened]?
“(Laughter) Just before we were born, our big brother was annoyed about something. So our parents wanted to be kind and let him be involved, so they asked him what our middle names would be. He was probably six years old then and must have taken Hercules after the Disney movie and Markoolio after the artist. It was in that way that the big brother had to choose,” explains Theodor Niederbach.
But you must be quite grateful that you got Hercules instead of Markoolio?
“(Laughter) Yes, but that’s just a funny thing really. It’s just fun to be able to tell where it’s coming from.”
Have you ever held your big brother accountable for this?
“No, and I do not know if I want to do it. He’s a little bigger than me. I’ll probably have to wait with that.”
Yes, because here you can really talk about big brother.
The seven-year-older brother Ludwig Niederbach, is the team captain for Ornskoldsviks Hockey in the Hockeyettan, is 192 centimeters tall, weighs upwards of a hundred kilos and is described as a true physical forward.
“He played down in Hanhals, in Kungsbacka, outside Gothenburg last year. If we had a free weekend, we used to go there and visit him. This season he chose to move home again and now he thrives very well at home.”
But despite the fact that big brother has returned home and large parts of the rest of the family are also located outside O-vik, the “little ones” Theodor and Adam have a new watchful eye in place in Gothenburg.
“Last season we had my brother here and now we have my sister (Emilia) there. She moved down to study so now we have her in place to keep an eye on us. It feels good.”
It is interesting he has a brother who is 220 lbs. and tall. He might just grow a bit more.