Nielsen helps Marlies stay alive
Big-bodied rookie blue-liner boosts stock in Leafs system with winning goal in Game 6
Andrew Nielsen offers a unique blend of size and brawn with speed and skill.
For a Maple Leafs team looking for help on the blue line, the hope is Nielsen will get there one day.
On his best days, he’s physical, he’s hard to play against, he uses his stick well, and can blast a shot from the blue line.
Nielsen did just that on a thirdperiod power play on Monday night, to lift the Toronto Marlies to a 2-1win against the Syracuse Crunch, forcing a decisive Game 7 on Wednesday in Syracuse.
“It was fun (to score that goal),” said Nielsen. “Any time you can contribute in a big way like that, especially as a young guy, it’s exciting. It’s not the Stanley Cup goal, but it’s a win in the playoffs. It’s a good goal for me, for my confidence going into the next game.”
Carl Grundstrom — just in from Sweden on the eve of this round — also scored for the Marlies. It was his third goal in five games.
Goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo faced 28 shots before 6,749 at the Ricoh Coliseum. The home team has won each game. The winner plays the winner of the Hershey-Providence series in the Eastern Conference final.
Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe has been impressed with Nielsen’s play the deeper the playoffs have gone.
“He has played more and more this series, he has earned extra opportunity,” said Keefe. “He’s in a nice groove. There’s a lot he can continue to work at, and we will continue to be on him.
“Had our season ended a month ago, you think the season for Nielsen was a rocky season. But the longer we play, he gets a chance to gain experience, find his game, and find that groove. This is what happens when you play more opportunities, you get to feel good about yourself. Credit to Nielsen.”
Nielsen is probably a bit behind fellow 20-year-old Travis Dermott and 22-year-old Rinat Valiev on the depth chart. But these Calder Cup playoffs are in their own way a competition for the eyes of Leafs brass, an opportunity to impress.
“I feel like I’ve taken a lot of positive steps,” said Nielsen. “I kind of struggled before Christmas and a couple of games after Christmas. I thought working with the development staff really helped. We worked on a few things. I feel my play has improved a lot. I feel I acclimatized myself to the speed of the game, the physicality and learning how to use my big body.
“In the Western league you could get away with being a little more passive and use the stick more,” said Nielsen, who played his junior hockey with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes. “I kind of had to break those habits. It took longer than I would have liked. I feel like I’m playing some of my best hockey in the past couple of weeks.”
Mistakes — owning up to them and learning from them — are what life in the minors is all about. The Marlies treat mistakes as learning opportunities.
“Any time you can have that trust from the head coach who will put you out in any situation, be it penalty killing or power play or overtime, I think it’s something as a player you look to gain early and ride it out the year,” said Nielsen. “I don’t want to say I lost (Keefe’s trust) when I was struggling, but I think I’ve gotten it back to where it was at the start of the year.”