This week we'll discuss Frans Nielsen. In the first year of his 4 year deal with the Islanders this center is from Herning, Denmark. He's a smooth skater and passer and is currently skating between Trent Hunter and Andy Hilbert.

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BETTER.

I was the most critical of him and Garth Snow for handing him a 4 year 1-way deal.
Frans has been a pleasant surprise, shame he got hurt when he was playing at a high tempo.

He r00lz !!!

I agree, a pleasant surprise and glad his salary is locked and he under contract for 3 more seasons with us.

FINALLY A BARGAIN WITH AN UPSIDE

As Expected...he is doing what he was signed to do. Right now, he is a third line playmaking center with skating ability and good hockey sense. He plays the PK and gets some PP minutes. To me, that is what he was signed to do.

This is exactly the type of player to grow and develop.....and it looks like he has enough talent where he can be a 50 to 70 point a year guy. He was playing real well up until he got hurt........but now slowly but surely is returning to that form.

Gotta love him.

He has done nicely. I think more games = more experience = better player.

Well done.

:o

Are you kidding me?

50 to 70 points? The guy can't bury a shot from five feet away. Fourth line player. Nice one in fact.

I think puckhead had a type O

He meant to post 5 to 7 points :thumbsup:

Oh, okay, thanks Led. I thought I was watching the wrong guy being referred to in this thread. I realize a big burst of excitement is generated with this group of players every time someone comes close to scoring, which Frantz does quite a bit. But rarely is the puck deposited into the net.

I like him as a fourth line player. Then again, there are about six or seven of these fourth liners on the team. Result: What you have this season.

he maybe a 4th liner now, but I can see him becoming a 2nd liner in the future..scoring will come..he needs the right wingers...scorers to be precise.

So you see him more like a Josh Bailey, pass first, shoot second player?

I think he has surpassed expectations this year...sucks he missed a whole lot of games esp when he has been playing real well...hopefully he can turn it up down the stretch.

:yes:
If we were voting on who can hit the boards behind the net, then yes, he is above expectations.

At least he's having a career year. He has two goals already and he's on pace for three!

absolutely.

About what I expected so far. Reminds me a bit of a young Sergei Berezin. Good skater, seems to get a lot of shots, could be a goal scorer . . . jury's still out, he's got time to develop, and he's not exactly playing with top line talent alongside him yet either, so you gotta grade him on the curve.

While I'm rooting for the Isles to finish in the basement, I never root against Nielsen and the kid line.

I would love for you to point out a fourth line player that can dish passes like Franz does. Did you see the pass he made with under 5 min to go to Mark Streit against Montreal. Put the puck through about four defenders barely looking. This is his first full year, and he's already a .5 point per game player. He's a playmaker and may never be a 20-goal guy, but there are plenty of supremely talented pass first guys out there that put up huge numbers.

Despite the injury, I feel he should have more than 5 goals on the year at this point in his development. Let's see what next year brings... If it's anthing less than 35 points for a whole 82 game season I will be dissapointed.

At least he comes cheap. There is def some offensive talent there.

And he should be a 4th line player on a good NHL team.

Down the middle next year should look like this:

Line 1 - Free Agent (brought in to add offensive spark, but mostly faceoff wins)
Line 2 - Bailey
Line 3 - '09 Draft Choice
Line 4 - Nielsen

And we roll 4 lines, giving 4th line guys about 8-12 minutes.

IIIIIIIIIIIFFFFFFFFFFF the Islanders have Number 1 pick, and pick John Tavares, then you can expect to see Tavares as 1st line centre.

Joe Thornton/Marc Savard...

yummy

I think Neilson can be a goal scorer, I have seen him hit the post so many times this year, he has a good shot, he was playeing well before the injury

Sorry, but I've had it with this guy. Franz must go. This isn't a snap judgement based upon the last two games (though he's been horrible in both), but rather finally being willing to state what I've felt despite many fans and the organization being so high on this guy's "potential" as a two way forward.

He's a NO WAY forward. I've had it with Franz. He can't win any physical battles. This was evident by the tying goal by Umberger in the CBJ loss the other day. FRanz was in perfect postion with Umberger on his back in the high slot, yet Franz couldn't so much as clear the puck from the slot and Umbeberger gets off a one timer while being BEHIND Franz. Just pathetic. Cost us a goal because he lost ANOTHER physical battle in front. HIs positioning was fine, but his effort was pathetic. Didn't move his feet at all in that confrontation.

Today, we are up 2-0 in the Devils game with under 2 to go and he gets the puck on the halfwall in our zone and BLINDLY flings the puck to the middle of the ice right on a Devils stick in our high slot. WTF. You are taught before age 6 that you never blindly send pucks up the middle of your own zone. And he wasn't touched when he did it.

I'm sorry, but I keep hearing about how this guy is a "future Selke challenger" and that he's a "good 2 way center". Well, he isn't. In fact, the Gordo era hurt Bailey's development at the expense of giving Franz more ice time. WTF Franz is doing on second line and Bailey being moved to wing is beyond me.

Seriously, who is more likely to be a top 2 line center in this league...wait...even better, who is more likely to be a NY Islander in 2 years...Franz or Bailey? Then WTF are we doing moving Bailey from center to wing, back to center, then to wing, then to Bridgeport. HOW IS THIS HELPING BAILEY DEVELOP??? And all the while we are seeing Franz get time on the PP, on second line and moving Bailey to wing to facilitate that?

Here is a clue for our organization....if you want the kids (BAiley, Tavares, Moulson, Okposo) to develop...play them together. Don't put them with the likes of an Andy Hilbert, Jon Sim, Richard Park, PA Pappy, or FRanz N. Let them play together and develop together. Of those I listed, who is more likely to be an Islander in 4 seasons and contribute offensively? Who is more likely to be OUT OF THE NHL?

This isn't rocket science...we saw what happened to the Moulson-JT-KO line once it was split last season...they all dropped in production after a hot start. That is what happens when you force a talent like Tavares to play with an offensive sack of #$%^ like Richard Park. Well, Bailey gets to play with the maddeningly inconsistent Comeau and gets moved to the wing to make way for FRanz...FRanz who needs a Magellan to find his way in the offensive zone....BUT IT IS BAILEY WHO NEEDS TO GO TO BRIDGEPORT?

Sorry, I like the drafting that Garth has done since he's taken over...but if this is how we develop young talent, we aren't developing it. We are stunting it.

FRANZ IS NEVER ANYTHING MORE THAN A 4TH LINE CENTER...NOTHING MORE!!!

So is Koni and Schremp is probably nothign more than a 3rd line cetner at best...so stop FFFFing over Bailey for the sake of others.

If the Isles want to play him on the wing, then put him with Moulson and Tavares until KO comes back. WTF is PA doing with them anyway? Play our talent with talent so they can develop instead of expecting 22 year olds to carry 28+ year old dead weight in the form of a Richard Park, FRanz, Sim and others. That is an unrealistic expectation for your kids.

He is like a lot of players on this team -- being asked to do things they are not capable of...see playing point on PP. He is a soft player with some good skills. Again, I wouldn't overreact too much since much of the roster is either AHL quality or fourth line quality.

3 assists in the last 2 games doesn't sound horrible to me for a "4th line center" at best..we just got over a 14 game losing streak there are plenty of other players deserving our wrath besides Franz..Enjoy the win for once buddy..

Just noticed this and I have to agree with alot of it.

If you're going to try and build a team for the playoffs. You do NOT want a stick checking beanpole like Frans Nielsen as your 3rd line center. He is SOFT and the playoffs are a grind.
With the puck, he's made some nice passes but in the corners, in the trenches and when other teams stars are cycling in our own end, the best he can do is try and poke check because he struggles to get body position. I am sick and tired of hearing Butch Goring RAVE about this pubic hair. We have CRAPOLA on our team and because this one turd smells just a lil less than the rest, he is the golden nugget?

Man I gotta watch the replay of this game to hear what that toolbag had to say. I know what I saw at the Coli this afternoon. HE SUCKS.

No more overrating our players because the majority of our crud makes them look better.

its tough to enjoy a win, when the same players continue to erk us...maybe next season franz can wear the chains around his neck instead of bailey...


Note to Franz Neilsen:GET SOME MUSCLES.

franz would do better playing in europe..

He's a 4th line center on a team of NHL caliber players. On this team he is 3rd line and sometimes 2nd. He has been brutal lately but so have others. Potential? Again, on an NHL caliber team he would be expected to net a half dozen goals and play shuþ down defense. On this team he's expected to score 20 and NEVER make a poor play or be on the ice for a goal against. He is what he is, not what we want him to be.

Enjoy the win and hope for improvement. From him and a half dozen others.

so what you're saying is...lighten up on him?

I won't lighten up on Nielsen or the team or the management. WE DESERVE BETTER.
At what point did everyone decide to be content with a win after 14 losses?

Is everyone going to buy tomorrow's koolaid headline from Katie Strang NOTING (I'll just bet ya)
that the team has points in 3 straight????

To me, this team has NOT won a playoff round in ages. The day I'm content is when they've DEVELOPED NHL caliber talent. Not serving us ramen noodles while charging us for Zuppa Di Pesce.

I don't expect Nielsen to score 20 goals. I expect an UPGRADE to Nielsen. We all should.
And he's just 1 of many that need to GTFO this team.

he was starting to develop until Mottau head-shot him last year and he needed surgery on his knee. I'd like to give him a little more time before I slaughter him because he seems like someone with the "P" word. Having said that, he never hits and is weak on the puck a lot.

He gets back on D because he is never hung up ice following through on checks.

He's becoming an enigma. I hope he can turn it around. he doesn't necessarily change his game and start hitting, but he needs to be better. That goal the other night was inexcusable.

3 assists in the last two games...great. He also was THE culprit on the Umberger goal and a contributing culprit to the OT winner. So excuse me, but BFD if he's going to get assists but be horrible in what is supposed to be his bread and butter...being a defensive center. He was E on the game because his two bonehead moves were so bad. And with all the PP time he's getting, he better get points.

His idiotic blind pass from the halfwall to our slot today with less than 2 minutes left could have put the Devs right back in the game.

What was said by another poster was dead on... he's playing above his grade. He's not a 2nd/3rd line center or a guy who should get PP minutes, but he is.

No offense Westy, but when his PT is effecting the development of Bailey, I'll get testy about it. Franz sucks.

But that is exactly what I'm saying...and have to varying degrees for 2 seasons now. I've stated he's at best a 4th liner and that he's too soft to be a true "defensive center".

So how are we in disagreement. My point is that people should stop with the idea that he'll ever legitmately be more than that and that not just fans, but the Isles management, should get a realistic view of his abilities. The fact that he's bumping Bailey to wing on second line for long stretches would be laughable if it weren't so pathetic.

I'm not disagreeing with anyone, just trying to make a point.. All I'm saying is he is being asked to do more on this team than he would on most others.

I agree, he has been nothing more than average at best. And he is taking time from other players (which he has no control over) he looks confused on the ice.

I actually think he may have been more comfoitable in Gordon's system, if thats possible..

I think the point here is that he has either forgotten his role or been assigned one he can't perform. Or he lacks the talent to play at this level. And the result is that he is playing poorly. Very poorly.

Well, he's a lot like PA who shouldn't even get a sniff on any line except fourth. But he's a soft, takes too long to make a pass or shoot player who scored a goal against us last year so he has a contract. Enough of these soft, slightly skilled players. Jesse J was impressive, with his strength along the boards. We got too many guys that lose the one on one physical battles along the boards. OH, and the PP was PU again.

Yep

Have to agree with I4C and Steve. I'm willing to give guys time to develop, but Franz is 26 years old and seems to have shown what he is. He can skate, but you need more than that to survive in this league. If he was a Tomas Plekanec type player, then great. He isn't.

One thing I've maintained throughout this rebuild is to continue to identify the weak links after each season and to get rid of them. Nielsen isn't part of this team's core for the reasons stated above. A guy like Robbie Schremp probably isn't either, but at least he produces a bit offensively. Nielsen is overrated defensively, he's not good offensively, he's not good on faceoffs, and he's undersized. Maybe time to give a guy like Ullstrom a look instead.

Okay, time to step back and take a deep breath. Franz is a pretty good player. This thread is more brutal than his play on the ice.

Franz has terrific hockey sense. He is rarely out of position. He is a heckuva forechecker. He plays on a team that seems almost uncommunicative at times, and he often seems to know, like he's watching the game up in the stands, whether he has twelve seconds or two-tenths of a second to move the puck. He also has some offensive talent, and almost always gets one or two shots in a game. Indeed, he's one of the current team's scoring leaders, tied with Tavares, not that we were looking for Neilsen to carry us in that department.

Quick stat break here: Tavares, -14. Nielsen, -1.

Matt Moulson, who's been playing great, has one more point than Nielsen. Matty's also -8.

Nielsen is close to even. And that's on a fairly crap team.

For a team whose top Dmen like Wiz and Eaton seem to have carved new niches for themselves finding ways to turn over the puck down low, or lose the puck on simple plays like banking-it-off-the-end-boards, plays that a backchecking Brad Dalgarno could do blindfolded, I find it hard to join the criticism on our great Dane. Franz has skated the puck out of trouble in the defensive zone a dozen times in the past month by himself. Each time he does it, I say to myself, hey, look at this kid do it again. Honest, watch the guy, he makes a lot of smart decisions, especially where it counts, down by the crease.

Yeah, I see Franz make some mistakes, too. He is not a big guy and he can get muscled or bumped off the puck. His faceoff % could be better. Sometimes his clearing passes don't work. Sometimes they're risky. Y'know what, I saw Denis Potvin clear the puck up the middle of the ice like 200 times in his career. Lots of times, it worked. Good players occasionally know when to break the unwritten rules and and take smart risks. Obviously Nielsen is not a future HOFer, but he does take smart risks.

And while we're beating up on Franz for perceived miscues during the Columbus game, don't forget he had two assists in the game, too. He has four points in the past three games.

For a mid-sized to smaller NHLer asked to play a pretty big role on a rebuilding club that is far from playoff calibre, Franz deserves a better reception than he's getting on here. He eats minutes (3d in TOI among NYI forwards) and plays a responsible two-way game. He has one of our 2 shorthanders this year.

On a more talented team, I move Franz to the wing because he doesn't have the size I like to see at center. I see him more as a two-way winger in the Jere Lehtinen mold. But as others have pointed out, he's been asked to play a very large role on the current club.

If you don't like how he's used, your problem is with Snow, not Franz. If you want more physical players, your problem is again with Snow, who can add them to the roster without subtracting Nielsen. But saying Neislen is fourth-line fodder is silly.

Waive this guy and half the league will claim him.

Sure, I'm going to watch the next few games to see if I'm missing the boat here. But as I see it, the Islanders are the WORST team in the league (a sad statistical fact, in terms of points) and of all the players on deck (note, he hasn't missed a game yet) Franz Nielsen is one of the LEAST responsible.