Frans Nielsen
| Frans Nielsen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Nielsen with the New York Islanders in January 2015 | |||
| Born |
April 24, 1984 Herning, DNK | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team | New York Islanders | ||
| National team |
 Denmark | ||
| NHL draft |
87th overall, 2002 New York Islanders | ||
| Playing career | 2001–present | ||
Frans Nielsen (born April 24, 1984) is a Danish professional ice hockey player and an alternate captain for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the first Danish citizen to play in the NHL.[1]
Playing career
Nielsen was drafted by the New York Islanders in the third round, 87th overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. After playing in the Swedish Elitserien since 2001, Nielsen signed a two-year contract with the New York Islanders on May 15, 2006. He has also played for the Danish national team.
With over 216 games in the Elitserien, Nielsen recorded 25 goals and 34 assists for 59 points and 66 penalty minutes.
Nielsen started the 2006–07 AHL season with the Islanders' affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and was recalled to the Islanders on January 5, 2007. He made his NHL debut on January 6. At the time of his recall, he had recorded a point in nine consecutive American Hockey League (AHL) games, which was three games shy of the Sound Tigers' club record.[2]
During the 2010–11 NHL season Nielsen scored a league-leading seven short-handed goals, including two penalty shot goals in three-on-five shorthanded situations. Near the end of the 2010–11 NHL season Islanders' Captain Doug Weight was quoted as saying of Nielsen “He’s our best all-around player even though his stats don’t necessarily show it". On February 7, 2012, Nielsen signed a four-year, $11 million contract with the Islanders.[3]
Nielsen holds the distinction of being the most successful NHL player all-time in shootouts (i.e., scoring percentage among players with a substantial number of shootout attempts). In fact, he scored a goal in a shootout prior to being credited with his first official NHL goal. His signature move in the competition has been dubbed the "Danish Backhand of Judgement", though he has also scored using his forehand. As of March 2013, he has a success rate of 62.5%.[4]
On October 25th, he recorded his first career NHL hat trick against Anders Lindbäck of the Dallas Stars by scoring all three goals in the third period.[5]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | Herning Blue Fox | DEN | 38 | 18 | 19 | 37 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Malmö Redhawks | SEL | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Malmö Redhawks | SEL | 47 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Malmö Redhawks | SEL | 50 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Malmö Redhawks | SEL | 49 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Timrå | SEL | 50 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | New York Islanders | NHL | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 54 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | New York Islanders | NHL | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 48 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | New York Islanders | NHL | 59 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | New York Islanders | NHL | 76 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | New York Islanders | NHL | 71 | 13 | 31 | 44 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | New York Islanders | NHL | 82 | 17 | 30 | 47 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Lukko | SM-l | 27 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | New York Islanders | NHL | 48 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | New York Islanders | NHL | 80 | 25 | 33 | 58 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | New York Islanders | NHL | 78 | 14 | 29 | 43 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 525 | 99 | 198 | 297 | 100 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||||
| SHL totals | 216 | 25 | 34 | 59 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
References
- ^ Grossman, Evan (2007). "When it comes to hockey, it's a small world". NHL.com. Retrieved 2007-04-15. [dead link]
- ^ "FRANS NIELSEN RECALLED BY ISLANDERS - Set to become first Daniard player to appear in an NHL game". Brideport Sound Tigers. Retrieved 2007-02-24. [dead link]
- ^ http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/Hockey+World/4550412/story.html Archived 2011-08-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Shootout career totals) - NHL Database
- ^ "Nielsen scores three in third to lift Islanders past Stars". Islanders.com. October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
External links
