Thimo Nickl is a 6’2″ right shot defender who is enjoying his first season playing in North America. We feel he has National League potential and is well suited for today’s NHL.
Thimo Nickl (4 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — B+) Defense
Extremely interesting prospect for the upcoming draft who has all the tools in becoming a solid top 4 defenseman at the next level. In this game against Gatineau Nickl was great- quick heady puck movement in all three zones, poised on the offensive blue line and kept a tight gap on forwards attacking him on zone entries. Nickl wired a couple of impressive stretch passes on the tape allowing his forwards to easily gain the offensive zone. In the first period Nickl made a sharp cross box feed on a 4 on 4 situation giving his teammate an open look in front of the net before burying it after a nice deke. Nickl also finished off a one timer on a 5 on 3 power play, showing off once more his offensive prowess. There’s a lot of potential with Nickl as he possesses good size, an efficient skating stride and above average passing ability. He’s a prototypical modern-day pass puck moving defenseman that everyone wants on their team. Once Nickl puts on more weight filling out his long frame, he projects to be an extremely reliable defenseman at the next level. Game Grade: A- (Projected round 2-3) NHL Comparison: Jeff Petry
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
Player Evaluation: Sortiri Athanasopoulos