Nino Niederreiter – The complete package – size, speed, grit, hands and more. Has adjusted to the North American game without missing a beat and is really starting to dominate games as a 17 year old rookie. He plays the entire ice surface and back checks very well. An above average wrist shot and creates his own time and space with stick-handling. A sure-fire first rounder in my opinion.
Hockey Indepedent 12/11/09

He's a good all around player. I think he's being "unleashed" right now. He's got everything you could want in an NHLer, good size, good skating, great awareness, good strength, he's got a mean streak, soft hands, great hockey sense and a shot that goes in. I think Johnston wanted him to focus on defense at the beginning of the year but is now showing what an offensive force he is at this level.
Winterhawks fan on HF Boards 12/09/09

Nino is 23-18-41 in 37 games with the Hawks this season. If Hall and Fowler are off the boards when we pick, Garth should consider trading down with one of the three teams with multiple first rounders and pick Nino and the best available defenseman. He would work well on a second line with Bailey and Petrov.