Cristoval ‘Boo’ Nieves

December 2020 – Nieves was not extended by the Rangers during the extended offseason and it seems unlikely that he will be returning to the organization. Brayden Olafson

April 2020 – Nieves played out his one-year contract with the Rangers predominantly in the AHL with the Hartford Wolfpack, and it’s unclear whether or not he’ll return to the organization. The 26-year-old forward has shown very modest growth over the past couple of seasons and doesn’t appear to have even a mediocre NHL career ahead of him at this point. Even in deep multi-category leagues, there’s little reason to be holding on to him at this point, and more value can likely be found in a much younger prospect. Brayden Olafson

March 2019 – Nieves has split his 2018-19 campaign shuffling between the AHL and the NHL. He’s proven to be a semi-valuable fourth-line option for the Rangers, however, would struggle to provide value on a roster that’s more interested in competing at the top of the league. With the addition of Brendan Lemeiux, the Rangers seem to have found a more reliable option for Nieves’ role, making his expiring contract more expendable. A renewal in New York would be a blessing for Nieves, but his window to prove himself as a valued contributor in the organization has narrowed significantly, and his value is dropping. Brayden Olafson

September 2018 – The Rangers opening day roster is littered with question marks, and this October, Boo will look to answer some of those by filling a gap on the wing – at least for the time being. The former Michigan Wolverine signed a one-year extension with the team this offseason and will get a crack at proving he’s worthy of a one-way extension next summer. There is almost zero chance that Boo ever cracks the Bluehshirts top-6, however, if he’s capable of producing supporting offense from the bottom of the lineup, he could become a role player for the team in the long-term. Brayden Olafson

December 2017 — Nieves started the 2017-18 season in Hartford and earned his first NHL call up with the Rangers in late October. In his NHL debut, Nieves had a night to remember recording three assists in a 5-2 win over Arizona.  Since that night Nieves has a total of six points in 19 games with the Blueshirts.  More impressively Nieves is plus-eight while averaging just over 10 minutes of ice per gam,e including some spot duty on the penalty kill.  While Nieves ice times has benefitted from some injuries in the Rangers lineup, his combination of size and speed has been a welcome addition to the Rangers bottom six.  Geoff Kent

August 2014 – Nieves had a down year in his sophomore season. Nieves finished up the season with 22 points in 34 games but 12 of those points came in the last ten games. Nieves has the size, speed and strength. He is a great skater and has very good playmaking ability. He can shoot the puck but he usually passes instead of shooting it. He lost his top-six spot on the team last year, but with lot of forwards graduated from Michigan, he can regain it if he steps up. He needs to be rebound next year as a junior. Jozsef Kurtosi

February 2014 – After he played winger last year, Nieves has moved to center. He was a candidate to play in this year’s US WJC squad, but his performance nixed that chance. Nieves is having a bad statistical season, but hopefully it’s just the sophomore slump. He is still a very good prospect and has all the tools to a be a successful NHL player. Nieves is a big, strong kid, with good playmaking ability, his skating is excellent. His game will translate to the NHL. Jozsef Kurtosi

May 2013 – In his first year at University of Michigan Nieves exceeded expectations. He finished the campaign with eight goals and 29 points in 40 games. He still needs time to develop but his combination of size, speed, playmaking ability and defensive awareness makes him a pretty safe bet to be in the NHL somewhere on a team’s top three lines. Eric Daoust

June 2012 – Projected as a second-round pick, Cristoval Nieves could become the first high school player off the board after tallying 11 goals and 39 points in 22 games playing for Kent in the New England Prep hockey circuit.  Nieves is a speedy agile skater that can change his path extremely quickly. As a result of his elite skating abilities, Nieves has an ability to get to areas of the ice before his opponents giving him extra time to scan the ice for his ideal target. More of a playmaker than scorer, Nieves is considered a borderline top-six player at this point and could follow a similar path as speedster Andrew Cogliano. Brendan Ross