Player Profile : Thimo Nickl

Basic Player Overview

2019/20 Team(s) : Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)

Nation : Austria

Position : D

Body Size : 6’3”/187lbs

Handedness : Right

Introduction

Nickl finished fourth in points amongst DY Defenseman in the QMJHL, with 10 goals and 39 points. He is a defenseman with a good shot, stick and physical ability, but he also got many holes in his game, which can hopefully be corrected…

Hockey IQ

Thimo Nickl plays an aggressive game, which makes him a risk-taking defenseman. If an opportunity to jump to offense, recover a loose puck or make an open-ice hit presents itself, he will often go headfirst. This can lead to high-quality plays, but it also can be read by his opposition and work against him. His decision-making in his own zone needs some work, as he’s often caught juggling with the puck and trying to create something through the middle instead of using the sides of the ice. When settling and exchanging the puck in the offensive zone, he will occasionally find himself a bit too close from his pair-mate, resulting in a more difficult puck reception.

Intensity

Nickl plays with good intensity. He loves throwing the body and fighting for the puck. When he makes a mistake, he will do his best to correct it. He doesn’t shy away from extra effort.

Skills and Passing

Nickl has average puck skills, enough to create himself passing and shooting lanes. In the offensive zone, Nickl seems to limit his own possession, often getting rid of the puck quickly, either right back to a teammate or throwing it at the net. He doesn’t seem to want to make zone entries, although he is capable of doing so, and prefers to let his teammates do it for him. Most of his plays when breaking out consist of quick passes to teammates. He sometimes uses the board without actually processing the play which can occasionally lead to loss of possession.

Shot Quality and Utilization

Nickl is a defenseman that likes to advance to the hashmarks for shots, especially on the PP. He isn’t afraid of skating even closer to the net to boost the quality of his chances. Most of the time, he won’t wait long until releasing his shot to the net after reception. His slapshot is not the heaviest, but it’s pretty accurate, so he is always a good option as the shooter when his team is trying to create a scoring chance. He can surprise goalies with a very quick wrist shot when loose pucks present themselves.

Physical Abilities

Nickl is good at timing his hits. He definitely wants to make use of his frame the most he can, but it sometimes leads to forced hit attempts that result positional disadvantage. His skating is just okay, but needs some work if he wants to reach his potential, his back-skating being the priority.

Overall Defensive Game

His average skating makes it difficult to handle a fast game. Due to his risky overall game, his positioning can be inconsistent. On a stronger side, he has a good stick and range to take the puck away and is good at timing his checks.

DY Environment

Nickl played a good part of the 2019-20 QMJHL season on a pair with Jacob Dion, also 2020 NHL Draft Eligible, a smart offensive-minded defenseman. They were also a pairing on the PP, which helped their overall production. Nickl also played with overager Mathieu Charlebois, who was playing his last season in the Q.

Advanced Stats

Nickl is ranked 3^rd in primary points per 60 minutes among draft year defenseman in the QMJHL, with 1.3/e60. His EV GF%Rel, which is his the percentage of even strength goals scored by his team while he was on the ice minus the % when he wasn’t on the ice, is negative at -2.36%, which means his team’s offense was more successful when he is not on the ice while being at even strength. His shooting percentage looks pretty good sitting at almost exactly 9%.

Statistics

Draft Rankings

115^th – Recruit Scouting

70^th – Future Consideration

74^th – NHL Central Scouting (NA)

Expected round of selection

3^rd/4^th round of the 2020 NHL Draft

NHL Comparable and Projection

Justin Holl

No. 5 Defenseman in the NHL

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