Grading the Islanders: Frans Nielsen, who walks on water
by Dominik on Jul 20, 2010 7:00 AM EDT
in New York Islanders Report Cards
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PrintWith the NHL back to a general post-draft, post-July 1 lull, it's high time we got to the rest of these report cards. Fortunately for yours truly, BenHasna has done much of the work on what, exactly, Frans Nielsen did for the Islanders this past year. The answer? Basically, everything.
Frans made every player he played with better. To borrow Frans' language about John Tavares: Oh, sick. You know Frans, that what he do.
It's not just that Nielsen made all of his teammates better. It's that he did it while facing the second-toughest competition on the team. (Only the near-overused Kyle Okposo drew tougher assignments, and that's only by a hair.)
Let me put it another way: On a team that was outscored by 42 goals, Nielsen had the second-highest plus-minus on the team while facing the toughest opponents night-in, night-out. Oh, and he was also the team's fifth-highest scorer (psst: That's without the benefit of any PP goals, by the way). Oh, and while facing the opponents' best he accumulated exactly six penalty minutes. Six! Do you realize how insane that is? Do you know how many NHL centers couldn't check a mite team for 76 games without taking more than three penalties? Should I even bother mentioning the shootout? Because his 7 conversions on 12 attempts led the team, and sadly shootouts matter in this league.
This, dear reader, is why I've raved about Frans like a fanboy the last two seasons. Complain about his 12-goal output if you must, but the fact is he's doing yeoman's work out there, and he's doing it better than anyone else on the team. For a salary of $525,000. Extending him at that rate through 2011-12 may have been the best contract decision Garth Snow will ever make.
Bonus: His dad was kind of a big deal with getting Danish hockey pointed in the right direction. Thank you, Mr. Nielsen, for your genes and your Frans.
Frans Nielsen
#51 / Center / New York Islanders
5-11
172
Apr 24, 1984
2 + 2 partials
$525k salary through 2011-12
"Frans, I think I love you. Seriously. I got it bad."
The Poem
While others are chasing glory
Trying to be the central story
Frans quietly plods along
Making sure 5-on-5 is hunky-dory
His backhand deke is best in the biz
You know it's coming, yet wham -- there it is
But Frans' strength is more than a skills contest:
It's pure hockey, best on best
It's taken some a while to see the light:
Fifty-one's a joy to watch night after night
In both zones, he cover all oversight
If lovin' Danes is wrong, baby I don't wanna be right
The Grade
If you're new to this report card drill, you vote a grade for the player based on how he measured up to your preseason expectations. So if you expected him to be a 40-goal scorer, you're a delusional #@$%ing fool, but you grade him low. If you didn't realize just how much ol' minimum-wage Frans brought to the team, you grade him high. And if you found your 2009-10 Frans porridge to be juuuuust right, you grade him a 5 or a 6.
Thanks for playing. Your praise and/or criticism is welcome in comments.
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Shootout incredible, D incredible, Offense shows incredible a little inconsistent
that is why I gave him an 8, I would lik eto see a little more consistency on the score sheet. still if he gives us 40 points a year while playing the very good D and helping us in th eshootout, I am very happy he is an Islander and hope he is for years
11
And even with no Fanfare, he finished tied for 10th or 11th in voting for the Selke. His day will come.
Wheel of Location, Turn Turn Turn. Tell us the location that we will play.
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Eleven
Not only did I like the comment for 11… but Frans was all that was mentioned in the post, plus at teh end of the season he looked pretty good on the PP point. Umlike most players on the Isles you could drop Frans into any lineup in the NHL and he’d get solid minutes, AND PRDUCE.
The NY Islanders are about to redo the salary cap floor with russian marble!
It’d be interesting what kind of deal he’d fetch on the free agent market, how many teams would come calling. I’m biased as hell but I hope we never find out.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
Either way he’d due for a significant pay raise in a year or two. Since he’s under contract until the end of the 2011-2012 season I see no reason an extension can’t be agreed upon.
There are few things in this world I enjoy more than the English getting beaten like a rented mule.
by David Hanssen on Jul 20, 2010 12:46 PM EDT up reply actions
I hope we never find out.
100% agree.
The funny thing though is that these guys the Isles lock up and dont see UFA, those are the ones who some fans do not think are worth their money (Hunter comes to mind, Martinek too. Its almost like if they werent on the market they dont think of them as being worth something. And for some players I think it does work like that.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Jul 20, 2010 1:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, and that’s one reason the Hunter deal still doesn’t bother me, even if he’s not the scorer many hoped for back then. It’s like, well, we bought some years out at a cheaper rate. He definitely would have made more than $2 million per when he hit the market — both player and club make these trade-offs when swapping lower salary for longer term.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
11
Need I say more?
There are few things in this world I enjoy more than the English getting beaten like a rented mule.
solid player
nielsen has been a solid player for the islanders and put up some decent numbers for them. His +/- is remarkable and he is solid in the faceoff and PK department. I am just not a huge fan of him for some reason….but he is a solid contributor.
I'm partial to Warren Zevon
Neilsen was a warrior from the land of the Jutland Sun
A Danish hockey player with some games to be won
The deal was made in Denmark; he was a third-round sell
And he set out for Long Island to join the NHL
In oh-six and oh-seven he barely saw the ice
‘Cause Nolan played his veterans, against Garth Snow’s advice
For days and nights they battled on how to run the team
While Neilsen practiced backhands and waited for the dream
Neilsen, the checking center
Neilsen, the checking center
His comrades played beside him, Blake Comeau and the rest
But of all the checking centers, Neilsen was the best
So the NHL decided they wanted Neilsen dead
That sonofabitch Mike Mottau elbowed Neilsen’s head
Neilsen, the awesome checking center
Denmark’s favorite son
You can still see his lethal backhand in the league highlights
And the cheers of all the fans of 51
And the cheers of all the fans of 51…
Frans Neilsen roams the conference for the guys who did him harm
He finds them in the corners, and he knocks them on their bum
When they line up for the shootouts, he doesn’t say a word
But he’ll roof that lethal backhand, on Brodeur or Hedberg
Neilsen the awesome checking center
Neilsen the awesome checking center
Neilsen the awesome checking center (talking about the man!)
Neilsen the awesome checking center
You have my apologoies for leaving off the last verse… I got stuck 3/4’s through and gave up. Just hum the glories of Frans Neilsen.
Of course I'm an expert, I've seen Slap Shot eleven times!
by mikb on Jul 20, 2010 11:45 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Wow, mikb
Wow. Epic tale. No apologies needed for bailing on the final verse.
Glad you got the Mottau reference in. I think this is the first time I’ve written about Nielsen since then without throwing in a curse on the head of Mottau.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
11...I am not an anti-Dane-ite
(big smiles) worth the wait…was that an unintentional Seinfeld reference?
IMO Frans is a 3rd center you can win a Cup with. A shutdown center, if you will. There could soon be a day, should JT and Bails develop as we hope, that no team has NYI’s depth at center.
on second thought...
Maybe Pittsburgh will. But someone needs to tell me how exactly a player as talented as Malkin had a 6 +/ this year.
lots of pp time
Sometimes guys who do a majority of their work on the PP have lower-than-expected plus/minus because a lot of their scoring doesn’t get them plusses.
Of course I'm an expert, I've seen Slap Shot eleven times!
good point, very true
I still think that he might be a touch overrated. You wouldn’t expect a season like that from someone billed as a franchise center, only the Pens already have one. I was really surprised when I saw that, figured he’d be at least a bit better 5v5…perhaps injury-related?
Malkin had a pretty bad season (for him) by a lot of measures. His peripherals in comparison to Crosby’s were night and day.
So I’d agree he’s overrated at this point.
On the topic of PP scorer vs. all-around player, I love that debate: You need guys who can convert on the PP, period. You simply need them. However, the line between how much defensive deficiency at 5-on-5 is worth how much PP production is a blurry one.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
was that an unintentional Seinfeld reference?
Purely intentional, of course.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
I voted 6 - Met expectations +
Im a bit surprised that he went that far expectations for some fans.
I always really liked his game, so seeing him do what he does now is what I (optimistically) expected of him.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
8
Franzie exceeded expectations, and was the most consistent Islander on many nights. His defensive prowess, got him voted in at #39 in the final Frnak Selke Award, with one 3rd place vote. Very impressive. Definately worth an 8, and hopefully, he will continue to exceed expectations.
I was a fan of Franz since he was playing with Bridgeport. Without having seen him play much I kind of assumed he was an offense only guy, and thought that if he was able to make the NHL it would be in a top six role. I don’t remember reading any scouting report that mentioned his defensive awareness. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised by his checking ability. I’ve always been a fan of good two-way checking centers. Players like him have an easier time sticking around the NHL because he doesn’t have to show up on the score sheet every night to make his presence felt. He contributed every night. Also, while he has received plenty of kudos for his two-way play, I think he has pretty offensive tools and I could see his point totals going up with better linemates next season and beyond
Interesting question
He does have some nifty offensive skills — passing in particular. I suspect if he were thrust into a top-six role, the shoe might be on the other foot: Wonder how many points he’d put up if other teams were throwing their defensive stoppers on against him. But more offensive linemates would be interesting to see.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
Being that our team is lousy with talented young centers I suspect he will continue in his current role, and might even see less time on the pp next year with the emergence of Shremp and Bailey and JTs continued progression. I think if needed he could easily thrive in a top six role, the playmaking skills are there and as we’ve seen in shootouts he has great hands. But with Tavares and Shremp being fairy 1 dimensional at this point in there careers Nielsen is more useful in a checking capacity. I give him a lot of credit because I think that at a certain point in his development he realized that if honed his defensive game he would have a better chance at making the NHL. When you can play a two-way game there are six more spots on the roster open for you. If he was an offense only player he would be competing with JT, Shremp and Bailey for basically two spots.
I may have it wrong (can’t remember if it was in an interview, or Botta, or Dave Hanssen here, or a Danish author who I talked to), but I believe Frans said going to Sweden was a big turning point in his development and defensive awareness. He was always a talented scorer-type, but that’s where he woke up to the joys of keeping the other team off the board.
(And if I’ve completely misremembered that anecdote, well, on the Internet no one knows you’re a dog.)
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
Young Frans
In his second full season, you have to be encouraged with Frans’ development, so far. He is turning into a bonafied two way centerman. I would like to see him paired on the wing with a more skilled finisher because he has great hands and is a skilled passer. Maybe he will get some PP time this season.
Frans Nielsen
In the photo is Frans waving goodbye to Bergy?Is that what he do?
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