I had a bit of a laugh when I read that Modo Ornskoldsvik of the SHL signed former Grand Rapids Griffins forward Danny O’Regan. Between O’Regan signing with Modo and Luke Witkowski signing with Tappara of the Finnish Liiga, it’s been a busy 24 hours for former marquee names on the Griffins’ roster.
All is not well, though, according to Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff, who reports that the signing of O’Regan hurts the cause of Wings prospect Theodor Niederbach:
Modo’s plan is to insert O’Regan, a right-shot center who’s also played on the wing, on the right side of their top line. That’s where Niederbach was performing in MoDo’s season opener.
In that game, a 2-1 overtime loss to fellow Red Wings draftee Axel Sandin Pellikka and Skelleftea, Niederbach was skating 18:49 of ice time, finishing even with one hit. It’s Niederbach’s third season in the SHL. He spent all of the 2021-22 campaign with Frolunda. Starting out last season with Rogle, Niederbach was dropping down to MoDo in the Allsvenskan (Swedish second division), helping the club regain promotion to the SHL.
Continued; as Duff notes, Niederbach’s rights expire on June 1st of 2024, so the Red Wings will have to make a decision as to whether to sign him before that date. At this point, I’d say that it’s 50/50 that the 5’11,” 172-pound 21-year-old Niederbach actually signs with Detroit. He’s got real playmaking skills, but he’s very inconsistent.
