Bruce Bennett

Fantasy Summary

Boo Nieves’ speed is enticing and his hockey sense and puck skills have improved, will most likely turn out to be a bottom-6 forward.


Observations

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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

February 2017 – After wrapping up his fourth year at the University of Michigan, Nieves signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Rangers in March 2016. He promptly joined the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack and finished the season with two goals and three assists over eight games as the team finished out of the playoffs. Nieves has made a smooth transition to full-time pro status in 2016/17, posting 17 points (5G, 12A) in 38 GP, enough to lead all Wolfpack rookies in offensive production. Nieves’ strong start to the season resulted in a single-game callup in November when he saw action versus the Vancouver Canucks. With a taste of NHL action, he will need to continue to refine his game to crack the Rangers’ deep forward ranks. Geoffrey Kent

 

March 2015 – After a sophomore slump, Nieves had a bounce-back campaign in the NCAA. For most of the season, he is played as a winger because Michigan had excellent young depth with Dylan Larkin, JT Compher and Copps at center. In 35 games, he produced seven goals and 28 points. In the first part of the season he looked uncomfortable on the ice and struggled to gain chemistry with his linemates. After he adjusted back to the wing, his overall game improved significantly.Nieves shows his offense in flashes struggling with consistency. Sometimes there are long stretches when he is invisible on the ice. He has the size, speed and vision, but needs to bulk up a bit because he is not willing to battle enough around the net. Boo is an excellent passer but his pass first-mentality limits his effectiveness. He needs to start finishing more to becomea decent top-six type prospect. Jozsef Kurtosi

 

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

Attributes
Fantasy Upside 2.5
NHL Certainty 3.5
Country USA
Position LW
Roster Type Minors
Shoot/Glove Left
Date of Birth January 3, 1994
Height 6‘3”
Weight 201 lbs
Drafted 2012 Round 2; Overall: 59

Stats

 Season Team League GP G A TP PIM      Playoffs GP G A TP PIM 
 2006-2007 Syracuse Stars QC Int PW- - -- -|        
 2009-2010 Syracuse Nationals 18U AAA18U AAA60 30 4272 70|        
  Team Black USA-S15- - -- -|        
 2010-2011 Kent School USHS-Prep22 11 2839 6|        
 2011-2012 Kent School USHS-Prep26 7 3239 2|        
  Indiana IceUSHL13 2 810 2|        
  Team Grey USA-S17- - -- -|        
  USA U18Hlinka Gretzky Cup4 1 34 0|        
 2012-2013 Univ. of MichiganNCAA40 8 2129 18|        
 2013-2014 Univ. of MichiganNCAA34 3 1821 18|        
 2014-2015 Univ. of MichiganNCAA35 7 2128 18|        
 2015-2016 Univ. of MichiganNCAA35 10 2131 18|        
  Hartford Wolf PackAHL8 2 35 0|        
 2016-2017 New York RangersNHL1 0 00 0|        
  Hartford Wolf PackAHL40 6 1218 10|        
 2017-2018 New York RangersNHL28 1 89 12|        
  Hartford Wolf PackAHL40 8 1321 12|        
 2018-2019 New York RangersNHL43 4 610 8|        
  Hartford Wolf PackAHL16 3 58 6|        
 2019-2020 New York RangersNHL4 0 00 4|        
  Hartford Wolf PackAHL43 5 2227 16|        
 2020-2021 Syracuse CrunchAHL0 0 00 0|        

Highlights