Nino Niederreiter

Unlike many Swiss hockey players, Niederreiter opted to play hockey in North American junior hockey to give him a better shot of making the National Hockey League (NHL). Past Swiss first-round draft picks Luca Cereda and Michel Riesen were known in hockey circles as "Swiss misses", as they never made an impact in the NHL.[1] Niederreiter followed in the footsteps of his Swiss teammate and friend Luca Sbisa and declared himself eligible for the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft. He was drafted by the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL) and enjoyed success in his rookie year.

Niederreiter with the Winterhawks in November 2010

While playing with Portland, Niederreiter was selected to play in the prestigious CHL Top Prospects Game to play for coach Bobby Orr. After scoring a fantastic "trick shot" goal in the trick shot competition during the skills competition on 20 January 2010, Niederreiter opened the scoring during the actual game the following day. He scored with 2:38 remaining in the first period on top-ranked goaltender Calvin Pickard to give Team Orr a 1–0 lead at the break. Team Cherry would eventually win 4–2.[2] In Niederreiter's first season of North American play and rookie season for the Winterhawks, he led them in goals with 36.[3] This total also ranked him 18th across the WHL and second amongst WHL rookies.[4] He added 24 assists, for 60 points on the season, good for fourth on the Winterhawks.[3] He recorded a further 16 points in 13 playoff games, second-best on the team.[5] The WHL recognized Niederreiter by selecting him to the Western Conference Second All-Star Team.[6]

The NHL Central Scouting Bureau predicted that Niederreiter would become just the fourth Swiss ice hockey player be drafted in the first round in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. TSN hockey analyst Bob McKenzie believed that he could become the highest-drafted Swiss player in history.[7] Niederreiter was ranked 14th by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau amongst North American trained players in its midterm rankings.[8] The NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Niederreiter 12th in its final rankings for the draft.[9] Those predictions came to fruition when he was selected by the New York Islanders with the fifth overall pick.[10] At the time, he was the highest-drafted Swiss hockey player in NHL history; he held this record until 2017, when the New Jersey Devils' Nico Hischier became the first Swiss player to be selected first overall.

Niederreiter was selected fifth overall by the New York Islanders and was the first European drafted (albeit North American trained). He began the 2010–11 season at the NHL level after signing a three-year, entry-level contract. In making his NHL debut on 9 October 2010, he became the youngest player in Islanders' history to appear in an NHL game (surpassing Dave Chyzowski's record).[11] Niederreiter scored his first career NHL goal on 13 October against goaltender Michal Neuvirth of the Washington Capitals. With the goal, Niederreiter, at the age of 18 years and 35 days, became the youngest Islander and the fifth-youngest NHL player in the expansion era (post-1967) to score an NHL goal; the only younger players to score in the NHL since expansion were Aleksander Barkov (18 years, 31 days), Grant Mulvey (18 years, 32 days), Jordan Staal (18 years, 32 days) and Patrick Marleau (18 years, 34 days).[12] On 28 October, the Islanders announced that they would return Niederreiter to the Winterhawks for further development. As he played only nine games in the NHL, Niederreiter did not use up a year on his NHL contract; had he played ten games, it would have counted as a full year.[13]

Niederreiter with the Islanders in September 2010

With Portland, Niederreiter enjoyed a career year with 41 goals and 29 assists for 70 points in 55 games.

Niederreiter spent the 2011–12 season as a member of the Islanders, where he was used primarily on the fourth line to gain experience alongside defensive veterans Marty Reasoner and Jay Pandolfo.

As a result of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Niederreiter was assigned to the Islanders' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.[14] Following the conclusion of the lockout, Niederreiter was not invited to the Islanders' training camp and reportedly asked for a trade as a result. Islanders' general manager Garth Snow indicated that the relationship between the player and the organization was fine, stating, "[A]ll conversations with players remain private, but I will say that Nino has never told me that he's unhappy."[15]

On 30 June 2013, Niederreiter was traded to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Cal Clutterbuck and the New Jersey Devils' third-round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.[16] He saw much more ice time and was given more opportunity than he had previously had in New York and was in the Wild's top-six forward group throughout most of the season. With the Islanders, in 64 games Niederreiter recorded 2 goals and 1 assist. In his first full season with the Wild, he improved to 14 goals and 22 assists (36 points) in 81 games.

Niederreiter in 2013

On 17 April 2014, Niederreiter made his Stanley Cup playoff debut in Game 1 of Minnesota first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche; he recorded an assist in the Wild's eventual 5–4 overtime loss. In Game 7 of the series, Niederreiter recorded two goals and one assist, including the game winner in overtime to advance the Wild to the second round of the playoffs.[17]

On 11 September 2014, just prior to the 2014–15 season, Niederreiter signed a new three-year, $8 million contract with the Wild.[18]

During the 2015–16 season, Niederreiter was placed on a line with Erik Haula and Jason Pominville. Despite being the third line for the Wild, it quickly became one of the team's most effective lines with high offensive totals, even while being matched up against opponent's top lines. Niederreiter finished the regular season third in goals scored for Minnesota, behind Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle.

On 30 July 2017, Niederreiter and the Wild avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a new five-year, $26.25 million contract worth an average annual value of $5.25 million.[19]

On 17 January 2019, Niederreiter was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Victor Rask.[20] Neiderreiter and Rask's offensive production had slipped with their previous teams, and the teams hoped that a change in scenery would benefit the respective players and organizations. Neiderreiter's scoring, which had only amounted to nine goals and 23 points in 46 games with the Wild that season, improved as the Hurricanes had hoped. In the remaining 36 games Neiderreiter played with Carolina, he scored 14 goals and 30 points, nearly as many as he had with Minnesota for the entire previous season.

On 21 July 2022, Niederreiter as a free agent signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Nashville Predators.[21] However, despite good production from Neiderreiter with 18 goals through 56 games, the Predators struggled to stay competitive in the 2022–23 season. On 25 February 2023, Neiderreiter was traded to Central Division rivals, the Winnipeg Jets, in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.[22]