Nino Niederreiter

Nino Niederreiter (born 8 September 1992) is a Swiss professional ice hockey winger for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected fifth overall by the New York Islanders in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, making him the highest-drafted Swiss hockey player in NHL history at the time (until Nico Hischier was drafted first overall in 2017). Niederreiter made his NHL debut with the Islanders early in the 2010–11 season before being returned to his junior club, the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Prior to coming to North America, Niederreiter had played in the junior system of the Swiss team HC Davos and appeared in three playoff games for the senior club in 2010.\n', ' 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. 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.\n', ' 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. In Niederreiter\'s first season of North American play and rookie season for the Portland, he led the Winterhawks in goals with 36. This total also ranked him 18th across the WHL and second amongst WHL rookies. He added 24 assists, for 60 points on the season, good for fourth on the Winterhawks. He recorded a further 16 points in 13 playoff games, second-best on the team. The WHL recognized Niederreiter by selecting him to the Western Conference Second All-Star Team.\n', '