Jeff Nielsen

Jeffrey Michael Nielsen (born September 20, 1971) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played as a right winger in the NHL for the New York Rangers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and Minnesota Wild. He is the older brother of Kirk Nielsen.

Playing career Nielsen was drafted by the New York Rangers in the fourth round, 69th overall, in the 1990 NHL entry draft. Rather than immediately turning professional, Nielsen played four seasons of college hockey at the University of Minnesota. He steadily improved each year, leading the team in points during his senior season (1993–94) and earning a spot on the WCHA Second All-Star team.

After college, Nielsen joined the Rangers' minor league affiliate, the Binghamton Rangers. He played three years with Binghamton, notably scoring 53 points in 76 games during the 1996–97 season. That year, he also made his NHL debut, appearing in two games with the New York Rangers.

Nielsen then signed with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim organization. He split the 1997–98 season between the Mighty Ducks and their minor league affiliate, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. For the 1998–99 season, Nielsen became a regular in the Anaheim lineup, playing 80 games and scoring 9 points. In the 1999–2000 season, Nielsen played in 79 games and scored an NHL career-high 18 points.

Nielsen was claimed in the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft by the Minnesota Wild. He played one season with the Wild before retiring from hockey in 2001.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1987–88 Grand Rapids High School HS-MN 21 9 11 20 14 — — — — — 1988–89 Grand Rapids High School HS-MN 25 13 17 30 26 — — — — — 1989–90 Grand Rapids High School HS-MN 28 32 25 57 — — — — — — 1990–91 University of Minnesota WCHA 45 11 14 25 50 — — — — — 1991–92 University of Minnesota WCHA 44 15 15 30 74 — — — — — 1992–93 University of Minnesota WCHA 42 21 20 41 74 — — — — — 1993–94 University of Minnesota WCHA 41 29 16 45 94 — — — — — 1994–95 Binghamton Rangers AHL 76 24 13 37 139 7 0 0 0 22 1995–96 Binghamton Rangers AHL 64 22 20 42 56 4 1 1 2 4 1996–97 Binghamton Rangers AHL 76 27 26 53 71 — — — — — 1996–97 New York Rangers NHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 1997–98 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 18 4 8 12 37 — — — — — 1997–98 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 32 4 5 9 16 — — — — — 1998–99 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 80 5 4 9 34 4 0 0 0 2 1999–00 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 79 8 10 18 14 — — — — — 2000–01 Minnesota Wild NHL 59 3 8 11 4 — — — — — AHL totals 234 77 67 144 303 11 1 1 2 26 NHL totals 252 20 27 47 70 4 0 0 0 2

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 2000 United States WC 7 1 1 2 2 Senior totals 7 1 1 2 2

Awards and honors Award Year All-WCHA Second Team 1993–94 WCHA All-Tournament Team 1994