Frans Nielsen

2006-07 Update: June 1, 2007: Frans Nielsen recorded 3 assists in 6 games played with Team Denmark at the 2007 World Championship's. He had 9 shots on goal. Nielsen recorded an assist in Denmark's 4-3 win over the Ukraine on May 1st. His other assist came in Denmark's 5-2 win over Italy on May 7th. Denmark finished 10th in the tournament with a 2-4-0 record.

2006-07 Update: May 1, 2007: Frans Nielsen missed the Bridgeport Sound Tigers final 11 games of the regular season, which included 8 games in April, after suffering a concussion on Mar. 25th vs. Portland. Bridgeport posted a 3-7-1 record without Frans in the lineup.  Nielsen returned to action in late April and joined Team Denmark for the 2007 World Championships in Moscow & Mystichi, Russia. It is the sixth straight year Nielsen will represent Denmark in the tournament. Denmark opened the tournament 0-2-0 after losing their opening game to Russia 9-1 and following it up with a 6-2 loss to Finland. Nielsen recorded an assist in the loss to Finland.

April 1, 2007: Frans Nielsen went 7-5-12 in 11 games played with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers during the month of February. Nielsen went 1 for 2 in the shootout on Mar. 9th in a 3-2 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He went 1-3-4 on the power play. Nielsen had two point scoring streaks during the month of March. From Mar. 2nd to 10th he had a 3 game point scoring streak in which he went 2-1-3. He had a 5 game point scoring streak in which he went 4-4-8 from Mar. 14th to 23rd. Nielsen scored the game winning goal in a 5-4 win vs. the Philadelphia Phantoms on Mar. 10th. On Mar. 16th he recorded the first goal of the game and assisted on the game winner for a 3 point night (1g, 2a) in a 5-3 win at the Norfolk Admirals. Nielsen also assisted on the game winner in a 6-2 win at the Binghamton Senators on Mar. 23rd. He also scored the first goal in that game as he did on Mar. 18th in a 7-4 loss at Philadelphia, for a total of 3 first goals in March. Nielsen scored a shorthanded goal in a 5-2 loss vs. the Portland Pirates on Mar. 25th. It was his 20th goal of the season. He left in the third period after sustaining a concussion. Nielsen missed Bridgeport's last three games of the month of March: 3/28 at Hartford, 3/30 vs. Hartford, and 3/31 at Hershey. Bridgeport posted a record of 5-8-1 in March. They went 0-3-0 in the games Nielsen missed.

March 1, 2007: Frans Nielsen went 1-1-2 in 13 games played with the New York Islanders during the month of February. On February 24, 2007 Nielsen recorded his first career NHL point, an assist, and later his first career NHL goal, the eventual game winner, vs. goaltender Jaroslav Halak in a 3-2 win vs. the Montreal Canadiens. He spent the entire month of February in the NHL, but the Islanders twice sent him down to Bridgeport for ice time. Nielsen played two games for the Sound Tigers on Feb. 20th vs. Albany and Feb. 25th vs. Hartford. He scored a goal in the game vs. Albany, a 2-1 win. Nielsen was returned to Bridgeport on Feb. 28th following the NHL trade deadline.

February 1, 2007: Frans Nielsen went 2-6-8 in 8 games played with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers during the month of January. He was a +4. Two of his assists came on the power play and one of his goals came shorthanded, Jan. 15th. Nielsen assisted on two game-winning goals: Jan. 13th vs. Hershey and Jan. 27th vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He missed on a shootout opportunity on Jan. 19th at Philadelphia. Nielsen had a personal 12 game point scoring streak, tying a Sound Tiger's record, from Dec. 16th to Jan. 15th in which he went 6-12-18. The streak was interrupted because of his call-up to the New York Islanders on Jan. 5th. He made his NHL debut January 6, 2007 in a 4-2 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes. In that game Nielsen became the first Danish born & raised player to play in the NHL. Paul Popiel, a player during the 1960's & 70's, was the first Danish born player in the NHL. In his debut, Nielsen played for 7:38, recorded 2 shots on goal and 2 hits. He replaced Shawn Bates in the Islanders lineup who was out with a hand injury. Frans played in the Islanders next game Jan. 9th, a 5-3 win at the NY Rangers. In that game he played for 3:36 and recorded 1 hit. He was returned to Bridgeport on Jan. 11th. While with the Islanders Nielsen missed 2 games with Bridgeport: 1/5 at Albany and 1/10 vs. Philadelphia. Bridgeport went 7-2-1 in January and 5-2-1 with Nielsen in their lineup. 

January 1, 2007: Frans Nielsen went 5-8-13 in 13 games played with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers during the month of December. Nielsen had 5 special teams points which included two power play goals. He finished the month on a 9 game point scoring streak in which he went 4-8-12 from Dec. 16th to Dec. 31st. Within that streak, Nielsen also had a 4 game goal scoring streak (4 goals) from Dec. 20th to Dec. 26th. Frans is not considered a rookie by the AHL because of his experience in the SEL (3 years), but he would be a rookie with the Islanders if he was called up to the NHL.

December 1, 2006: Frans Nielsen went 4-3-7 in 13 games played for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers during the month of November. He was a +4. Nielsen had a two point game with a goal, shorthanded, and an assist in a 5-1 win at Worcester Nov. 17th. He also scored goals at Philadelphia Nov. 11th, vs. Worcester Nov. 12th, and vs. Albany Nov. 26th. Bridgeport went 6-5-2 during the month of November. Normally plays on a line with Jeff Tambellini and Swedish born Robert Nilsson.

November 1, 2006: Frans Nielsen made his AHL debut with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on October 8, 2006. In that game, he scored his first career AHL goal, the game winner, in a 5-3 win at the Binghamton Senators. He recorded his first career assist in the following game. Nielsen was in camp with the Islanders and was sent down to the Sound Tigers at the start of their camp on September 26th.

mp3 of Frans Nielsen's first career AHL goal - October 8, 2006

2006-07 Highlights

NHL
* Named first star with a goal & an assist in 3-1 win vs. Montreal Canadiens February 24, 2007.

AHL
* Named first star with an OT goal (PP, GW) in 2-1 win vs. Manchester Monarchs December 23, 2006.
* Named second star with 2 assists in 4-3 SO loss vs. Providence Bruins January 14, 2007.
* Named second star with a goal (SH) in 3-2 loss vs. Norfolk Admirals January 15, 2007.

NIELSON RATINGS ARE UP:  DENMARK BEATS ITALY 5-2
ihwc.net, May 8, 2007

KHODYNKA--A fast start was the key to Denmark's 5-2 win over Italy, as both teams closed the book on the 2007 IIHF World Championship campaign. For Denmark, all three Nielsens--Daniel, Frans and Jens--appeared on the scoresheet.

For Denmark, all three Nielsens--Daniel, Frans and Jens--appeared on the scoresheet. Jens had a goal and an assist, while Daniel and Frans had an assist each. At the other end, Peter Hirsch had his most solid outing of the tournament, saving 24 shots and being named Denmark's Player of the game.

"We hope to move toward the quality of teams like Switzerland," said Frans Nielsen. "We have to take it one step at a time, but maybe in four or five years we can get there."

As usual, when Denmark scored, Olsen Brothers's Eurovision hit song "Fly On the Wings of Love" was played over the arena PA. The mellow commercial radio pop sound from the two middle-aged brothers somehow appeared to fire up the Danes, as Peter Regin scored on a 2-on-1 on the next shift to put Denmark up 2-0. Frans Nielsen was the player who joined Regin on the rush up ice and passed the puck to the Timra forward.

Early in the third, the Danes almost had their fourth goal when Frans and Daniel Nielsen had chances in front of Hell, but will both luck and skill, the Italians put the puck out of harm's way as it trickled along the goal line.

"We started out playing the way we should," said Frans Nielsen. "Then we thought we were the kings of the world and stopped skating. But I think we showed in the third that we are better than them."

After the game, the three best players for each team at this tournament were named. For Italy, Guenther Hell, Michele Strazzabosco and Jason Cirone got the honors. For Denmark, it was Stefan Lassen, Peter Regin and Frans Nielsen.

"It will be nice to get some time off," said Nielsen.

Nielsen's first NHL goal gets Islanders past Canadiens
AP, Feb. 24, 2007

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Score one for the NHL's sole Danish player.

Frans Nielsen's first NHL goal turned out to be the game winner and the Islanders defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Saturday.

"I couldn't believe it when it went in," said Nielsen, the first NHL player from Denmark. "It'll be big in Denmark."

Jeff Tambellini and Jason Blake also scored for New York, now 4-1-0 during a seven-game homestand. Rick DiPietro, starting his 11th straight game, stopped 20 shots.

Sheldon Souray and Christopher Higgins scored for Montreal. Rookie goalie Jaroslav Halak lost his first game in net after starting with three straight wins. Halak turned aside 28 shots.

With the win, the Islanders moved into a tie for seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff race with the Canadiens at 70 points. Carolina started the day one point behind Montreal and plays at Atlanta tonight.

Nielsen flipped Richard Park's cross-crease pass over Halak at the 10:52 of the second period.

Connpost.com 2006-07 Player Capsule

NAME — Frans Nielsen
NUMBER — 51
POSITION — Center
SHOOTS — Left
VITALS — 6-0, 176
BORN — April 24, 1984, Herning, Denmark LAST SEASON — Timra-Sweden (50: 5-13-18)
RESUME — Playmaker with speed comes to North America after five seasons in Sweden; played his first games in Sweden's top league for Malmo at age 17. ... Scored three goals in each of the past two World Championships. ... Attempting to become the first Danish player to reach the NHL.

Danish not too tasty for Raycroft
Rookie Nielsen nets a beauty in shootout
by Damien Cox, Toronto Star, Feb. 14, 2007

Hockey multiculturalism, it's fair to say, has left Andrew Raycroft with a headache.

Just when the Maple Leaf goaltender might have figured he had a handle on any country you could throw at him, along came Denmark.

That country's first-ever born and raised NHLer, Frans Nielsen, was part of the undoing of Raycroft and the Maple Leafs last night, leaving them losers in the momentous Battle for Ninth Place to the New York Islanders but, strangely, still in possession of ninth place today.

That's just the way the NHL does the math, folks.

This Nielsen fellow, meanwhile, was part of an exotic United Nations shootout competition between the Leafs and Isles that, intentionally or otherwise, excluded North America snipers altogether. There was a Swede, a Russian, a Slovak, a Ukrainian, a Kazakh and, yes, a Dane, all the considered selections of two Canadian coaches, Paul Maurice and Ted Nolan.

Nielsen, for his part, arrived in the NHL last month at about the same time the league embraced its first player from Japan, Los Angeles goalie Yutaka Fukufuji.

While Nielsen didn't leave the Air Canada Centre with his first NHL point in his ninth career game, he did score in the 3-2 Islander victory.

Points accumulated via shootout, you see, don't count in a player's individual stats, so the zeroes you see across the board beside Nielsen's name today won't reflect the gorgeous backhand move he put on Raycroft to score the first Islander goal in the shootout.

Given that Islander forward Viktor Kozlov is nearly automatic in the free shot competition and was still to follow, and given that the Leafs struggle in shootouts at the best of times, Nielsen's goal all but sealed the win.

The 22-year-old Dane, more bookish than brawny with a mop of sandy hair, had only eight shots on NHL goalies going into the game but had convinced Nolan of his talents by driving backup goalie Mike Dunham to utter frustration in practice the day before.

"Dunham broke his stick he was so ticked off. He couldn't stop (Nielsen)," chuckled Nolan. "Tonight, he made a name for himself."

Nielsen, who played 13 quiet shifts during the game, said only that he'd had one shootout attempt while playing for the Islanders' AHL affiliate and hadn't scored.

"Better goalies down there, I guess," he smiled.

If you're keeping track at home, the first Danish-born player to ever play in the NHL was actually a journeyman named Paul Popiel who played in the 1970s, but he learned the game in Canada. Nielsen, on the other hand, pursued the sport in his native country until moving to Sweden for better competition at age 17.

The Leafs, needless to say, weren't interested in anyone's heritage after the game, losing their third straight contest and again finding themselves unable to capture two points in their home rink.

The good news for Paul Maurice and Co. was that Montreal continued to flounder, with the Habs loss to Florida providing some encouragement at the end of the evening.

The bad news was that Islanders have now tied the Leafs in points, and that for the third straight game the Leafs were out-goaltended while going down to defeat.

First it was Nashville's Tomas Vokoun, then Marc-Andre Fleury of the Penguins on Saturday. Last night, it wasn't as though Raycroft struggled, but his New York counterpart Rick DiPietro was absolutely larcenous after allowing a long shot off the stick of Pavel Kubina to beat him in the first period.

DiPietro, the first goalie ever taken first overall in the NHL draft, was particularly suffocating in the third and overtime when he blocked 20 Leaf shots while the Islanders were directing only five at Raycroft.

That produced the shootout, a format that has not been kind to the Leafs since introduced coming out of the lockout. Being poor at free shots may have cost the club a playoff berth last season, and their 3-5 record thus far this season suggests the same could happen again.

NIELSEN TIES TEAM RECORD IN TOUGH LOSS
soundtigers.com, Jan. 15, 2007

Frans Nielsen tied a Bridgeport Sound Tigers record by registering a point in 12 consecutive games, but his short-handed goal wasn't enough in a 3-2 loss to the Norfolk Admirals before 3,693 fans at the Arena at Harbor Yard on Monday afternoon.

After Brandon Bochenski opened the scoring 5:20 into the game, Sound Tiger Brandon Nolan knotted the score at 1-1 with his third of the season just 2:19 later. Jeff Tambellini set up Nielsen for a second period short handed breakaway goal to tie the record set by former Sound Tiger Jeff Hamilton one year ago to the day. Nielsen scored when he beat Norfolk goaltender Corey Crawford on a backhanded shot for his 12th goal of the season at 16:34 of the second period.

Bridgeport Sound Tigers center Frans Nielsen has been recalled by the parent club New York Islanders. Nielsen, a 2002 third round draft pick of the Islanders, will make his National Hockey League debut, while becoming the first Danish-born player to ever appear in an NHL game.

In 33 games with the Sound Tigers this season, Nielsen has 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points. He also has a plus-three plus/minus rating and has an active nine-game point streak, just three games behind the franchise record.

Nielsen was signed by the Islanders to a two-year contract on May 15, 2006. The 6-0, 195-pound Nielsen was born in Denmark on April 24, 1984. Quickly out-growing the competition in his native country by the age of 17, Nielsen transferred to the Swedish Elite League. He spent his first four SEL seasons in the Malmo IF Redhawks organization before joining Timra IF for the 2005-06 season. In his 216-game SEL career, Nielsen recorded 25 goals and 34 assists for 59 points and 66 penalty minutes.

SYOSSET, N.Y. — Make a list of the world's hockey powers, and Denmark isn't near the top. A Danish player has never yet appeared in the NHL.

Frans Nielsen, a centerman out of Herning, Denmark, hopes to change both of those soon.

"We have a goal to be in the top 10 in the world in the next five years," said Nielsen, a 2002 New York Islanders draft pick who skated Monday at the team's prospects camp.

Nielsen, 22, was one of several players at the camp who could be ticketed for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Whether he plays for New York or Bridgeport, he will add skill to his lineup.

"The new rules are perfect for me, too," Nielsen said, because his strengths are "definitely with the puck, and skating."

Nielsen has played the past five seasons in Sweden's top league. In the past two IIHF World Championships, he has scored three goals for Denmark.

Adding strength to his 6-foot, 180-pound frame was one of his main goals over the past season, and he worked hard in the weight room to do that. Now, he feels he's ready for North America.

"I've been thinking about it the last couple of years. I'm ready," said Nielsen, who had 18 points for Timra in Sweden last season. "I thought I had a pretty good year this year. Good enough. That's why I did it."

He signed a contract in May and arrived in New York for a weeklong camp with other young players. Many were recent draft picks; only a few are even eligible to come to Bridgeport, though several of last year's Sound Tigers were at Iceworks on Monday.

"It was pretty tough," Nielsen said.

 

Nielsen's Dream Closer to Reality

May 15, 2006: The Islanders today signed C Frans Nielsen to a 2 year contract. The Islanders 2002 third round pick, 87th overall, was born in Herning, Denmark and is looking to someday soon fulfill his dream of becoming the first Danish born players to make it to the NHL. Nielsen recently turned 22 in April and at 6' and 195 lbs. has received past comparisons to Michael Nylander. He's played in the last four World Championship's with Denmark and spent the 2005-06 season with Timra in the SEL.

"Since we drafted him, Frans has shown the commitment and dedication that now has him at the level of a strong NHL prospect," said Islanders Chief European scout Ryan Jankowski. "He's a very smart player, a responsible player, and he skates extremely well. With some proper fine-tuning in our system and continued hard work from him, Frans can become an important player for us at the NHL level."

In 50 games played with Timra in 2005-06 Nielsen went 5-13-18. He finished fourth on his team in scoring and more was probably expected of him. But he has played well overall in his 5 season's in the Swedish Elite League after leaving Denmark at the age of 17. He played 2000-01 with Herning IK in Denmark and then left to join the Malmo IF Redhawks of the SEL in 2001-02. He moved to Timra last season because the team had more of a history of developing NHL players.

At the 2006 World Championship's, Nielsen repeated his 2005 statistics of 3 goals in 6 games played, including a shorthanded goal in a 5-3 loss to Canada. Frans was the second player taken by the Islanders in the 2002 draft after the first round selection of Sean Bergenheim.

"This is a big day for me," Nielsen said today. "It is a very proud moment, signing a contract with the Islanders and officially starting my dream of making it to the National Hockey League. I have worked very hard for this. I'm looking forward to being a part of the Islanders organization."

Ice hockey star looking to make it big in NYC
April 27, 2005

National team ice hockey player Frans Nielsen could be skating for the New York Islanders next season.

2005-06 Update: Franz Nielsen has moved to Timra IK for 2005-06 after spending 4 years with Malmo IF. There has been talk of him coming over to North America because of his performances for Team Denmark in the World Championships over the years, but he is reportedly under contract until the end of 2006-07 with Timra. Still, Islanders scouts have observed Nielsen's progress in the last couple of months and visited him in January to discuss his future. He has stated in the past that he'd like to become the first Danish player to ever play in the NHL. The article below is in Swedish but the main point of it (I think!) is that Islanders Assistant Director of Pro Scouting Kevin Maxwell, Director of Player Development Dan Marshall, and Chief European Amateur Scout Ryan Jankowski are trying to find a way to bring him over to North America next year.

- in 212 career games in the SEL Frans Nielsen has gone 25-32-57 with 62 PIM's. 

Frans Nielsen bliver again inspiceret nøje af NHL-klubben New york Islanders, der has forkøbsret on the Danish big taking smooth.

In øjeblikket has the 21-årige forward in Swedish Timrå besøg af scouten Dan Marshall, der your rejst til Sweden traveled at vurdere, about Nielsen can carry out an act itself in verdens stærkeste gang in næste sæson.

- we shells discussing thawing direct igennem with ham, about he your mental forberedt til at taking give skridtet. We overvejer, about we shells give ham a contract fra the coming only sæson, but has ikke bestemt os, siger chefscout Kevin Maxwell, der tidligere selv has været on besøg in Timrå ligesom Islanders ' europæiske scout Ryan Jankowski has været the, til the Swedish avis the daily.

- the your meget op til Frans at bestemme, hvad he vil gøre, fortsætter Maxwell.

* Here is another article on Frans Nielsen and his fellow Dane Peter Regin. In the article they both state that they want to become the first Danes in the NHL and chose to move from Malmo to Timra because Timra has a better history of developing NHL talent. Former NHLer's Kent Manderville and Pavel Rosa are also members of Timra. The article is from the well known Swedish Newspaper The Aftonbladet, dated September 28, 2005.

More...

Islanders Chief European Amateur Scout Ryan Jankowski stated this on nyi.com in December 2005:

"Frans Nielsen has adjusted comfortably to his new team Timra in the Swedish Elite League. He has an important role on this team and sees lots of ice playing smart two-way hockey.  Hopefully Frans will look to make another step to professional hockey in North America next season and start his life in the Islanders system."

2005 World Championships

On May 8, 2005 Franz Nielsen scored 2 goals to help Denmark defeat host Austria 4-3 at the 2005 World Championships.

Frans Nielsen scored twice, including the game-winner in the third, to give Denmark its first win in the Relegation Round. Now a final battle with Germany looms to determine who stays up.

With Andreas Andreasen in the penalty box for hooking Austria's Daniel Welser, Frans Nielsen accepted a pass from Peter Regin and split between the two Austrian defenders in on goal. Nielsen went with a backhand, forehand deke that froze Bernd Bruckler and found the back of the net. It was Denmark's first shorthanded goal in the tournament.

At 7:41 of the third period, Nielsen scored his all-important second goal of the game. Frederik Akesson moved out of his defense position and carried the puck around the net, where he spotted Nielsen who deposited the puck into an empty net with Bruckler out of position. Denmark held on by playing tight defense.

The Danes went on to defeat Germany 3-1 which qualified them to return to the 2006 World Championships in Latvia.

Nielsen also scored in Denmark's 4-3 loss to Slovenia during the relegation round. Denmark squandered a 3-0 lead in that game.

Bio

C Franz Nielsen: 5-11, 172 lbs. Born April 24, 1984 in Herning, Denmark. Nielsen played for Malmo Jr. in 2001-02 and put up some impressive numbers. He scored 15 goals and 27 assists for 42 points in 29 games. "He's a highly intelligent player," said Head Amateur Scout Tony Feltrin. "He's a very skilled player who is very creative with the puck. His hockey sense and accountability for his own zone are very good." Franz is slated to play full time in the SEL next year for Malmo. "That's going to help out his development, for sure," said Feltrin. "That's one of the best breeding grounds in the world."

Nielsen is going to need some time to develop, according to the Islanders' scouting staffers. "He needs to get a lot stronger," said Feltrin. "That's going to play heavily into his development into being able to play in North America." Played well for Team Denmark in the World Championships.

Update: 5/12/03

From eliteprospects.com

A very talented Danish player. Nielsen is still very young but he is already a great player. He has great potential and will most likely become a NHL'er in the future. Nielsen is a very smart player. He is a great play-maker, has great hockey sense, he reads the game well, he is a good skater and he can also put the puck in the net. Needs to bulk up though.

Video: Couple of interviews in Swedish of course. Still interesting.

Game interview ( 55 secs. - 1kb, .asx file )      Casual interview ( 52 secs. - 1kb, .asx file )

Below is a link to an October 10, 2002 game between Djurgarden and Malmo of the SEL. Djurgarden would go on to win 4-1 thanks to 2 goals and an assist by #9 Kristofer Ottosson. Djurgarden took a 3-0 lead and Ottosson almost has the natural hat trick as he blasted a shot for the third goal, but it was ruled tipped in by another player. This is a really good video because the lone goal scored by Malmo is by Franz Nielsen. The video is provided by svt.se. The highlights are in Swedish. Format RealPlayer. Very cool!

Ottosson/Nielsen