Andrew Nielsen (ice hockey)
Andrew Jeffrey Nielsen (born November 13, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for the Tucson Roadrunners in the American Hockey League (AHL). Nielsen was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round, 65th overall, in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
| Andrew Nielsen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Nielsen with the Toronto Marlies in 2018 | |||
| Born |
November 13, 1996 Red Deer, Alberta, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| AHL team Former teams |
Tucson Roadrunners Toronto Marlies Stockton Heat Black Wings 1992 Hershey Bears | ||
| NHL Draft |
65th overall, 2015 Toronto Maple Leafs | ||
| Playing career | 2016–present | ||
Playing career
Nielsen started playing with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League (WHL) near the end of the 2013–14 season. On November 24, 2015, Nielsen was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.[1]
During the 2018–19 season, on November 27, 2018, Nielsen was traded by the Maple Leafs to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Morgan Klimchuk.[2]
After five season and 226 regular season games in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies and Stockton Heat, Nielsen as an impending restricted free agent from the Calgary Flames, embarked on his first professional venture abroad in agreeing to a one-year deal with Austrian club, Black Wings 1992 of the ICE Hockey League, on August 27, 2020.[3] Nielsen made 15 appearances for the Black Wings, posting 1 goal and 3 points before opting to return to North America.
Nielsen returned to the AHL, initially joining the Tucson Roadrunners training camp for the pandemic delayed 2020–21 season. Remaining on the roster to open the season, Nielsen was later released without featuring for the Roadrunners. On March 5, 2021, Nielsen was signed to a PTO with the Hershey Bears, affiliate to the Washington Capitals.[4] He featured in 6 games with the Bears going scoreless to end the season.
As a free agent over the summer, Nielsen opted to continue in the AHL as a free agent, securing a one-year contract with the Colorado Eagles on September 16, 2021.[5] After attending the Eagles training camp, Nielsen was assigned to ECHL affiliate, the Utah Grizzlies, to begin the 2021–22 season.[6] Nielsen established himself on the top pairing with the Grizzlies, finding an offensive touch in recording 8 goals and 27 points through 36 games. Unable to feature in a game with the Eagles, Nielsen was released from his AHL contract with Colorado and was later signed to a professional try-out deal with the Ontario Reign on February 12, 2022.[7] Nielsen was later released from Ontario's roster without featuring for the club and joined his third AHL club, the Tucson Roadrunners on a PTO, on February 23, 2022.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2013–14 | Red Deer Chiefs | AMHL | 35 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Lethbridge Hurricanes | WHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Lethbridge Hurricanes | WHL | 59 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 101 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Lethbridge Hurricanes | WHL | 71 | 18 | 52 | 70 | 122 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2015–16 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 74 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 82 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 24 | ||
| 2017–18 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 65 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 143 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Stockton Heat | AHL | 29 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Stockton Heat | AHL | 45 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Black Wings 1992 | ICEHL | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Utah Grizzlies | ECHL | 36 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 114 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Tucson Roadrunners | AHL | 16 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 248 | 21 | 64 | 85 | 371 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 26 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Honours | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| WHL | ||
| First All-Star Team (East) | 2015–16 | [8] |
| AHL | ||
| Calder Cup (Toronto Marlies) | 2018 | [9] |
References
- "Maple Leafs sign Nielsen and Timashov". Toronto Maple Leafs. November 24, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- "FLAMES ACQUIRE NIELSEN FROM TORONTO". NHL.com. November 27, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
- "23 year-old defenseman for the Wings" (in German). EHC Black Wings Linz. August 27, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- "Bears sign defender Andrew Nielsen to PTO". Hershey Bears. March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- "Eagles sign trio to AHL two-way contracts". Colorado Eagles. September 16, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- "Eagles send 11 players to ECHL's Utah Grizzlies". Colorado Eagles. October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- "Reign sign defenseman Nielsen to PTO". Twitter. February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
- "WHL Announces 2015–16 All-Star Teams". WHL. March 23, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
- "Marlies bring a hockey championship to Toronto, win Calder Cup". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database