Anders Nilsson, G
Catches: L	Height: 6-5	Weight: 227
Born: 1990-3-19	Hometown: Lulea, Sweden	Drafted: 2009 by NY Islanders, 62nd Overall

 

 

 

 

 

Observations:

February 2016 – The Edmonton Oilers traded the sizable 25-year-old Swede to the St. Louis Blues for minor-league goaltender Niklas Lundstrom and a fifth-round draft pick this year. Nilsson, a former New York Islanders' prospect, has a 10-12-2 record with Edmonton this season with a 3.14 GAA and a .901 save percentage. The Blues needed someone to replace the injured Brian Elliott and back up Jake Allen. Mark Allan

October 2015 – Nilsson will be starting the season in Edmonton as the Oilers have waived Ben Scrivens. The spectacular pre-season showing from Nilsson and general ineptiude of Scrivens throughout camp has solidified his spot as the backup behind Cam Talbot. His fantasy value gets a huge bump up and with Talbot also having a shaky pre-season, it wouldn't be too far fetched to see Nilsson grab more than a handful of starts this year. Keep him on your radar in deep drafts. Tyler Thomson

September 2015 – Nilsson turned away 17 of 17 shots in the Oilers opening pre-season game, a 3-1 win over the Flames' split squad. It's a great sign for the organization, even though it was only one pre-season game, as it forces Ben Scrivens to compete harder to keep his backup job. Some Oilers bloggers even believe Nilsson could take over as the main goalie behind Talbot this season if Scrivens repeats his poor performance from last year. It's been a long and winding road for the 26-year-old who might be desperate for his last gasp at an NHL job. He should see action at some point this season depending on injuries and performance from Talbot and Scrivens. Brossoit and Laurikainen are younger and not as pro-ready but are knocking on the door. Tyler Thomson

March 2015 – When the Blackhawks acquired Nilsson as part of the package for Nick Leddy, they did so knowing he would play 2014-15 in the KHL. He played for Ak Bars Kazan, where he posted a 20-9-8 record to go along with a 1.71 GAA and .936 SV%. His GAA and SV% numbers were both good for top-five in the entire league. This season came on the heels of an impressive performance for Sweden at the 2014 World Championships where he led them to a bronze medal. The former third rounder certainly has the size and tools to become a successful NHL goalie and is still just 24 years old. In a year where we have seen goalies seemingly come out of nowhere to star in the NHL, it’s way too early to count out Nilsson. It will be interesting to see if he is lured back to North America this offseason, but the emergence of Scott Darling may keep him overseas for 2015-16. Matt Donohue

October 2014 – Nilsson's time is up as an Islander. He has been traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in a package to bring in Nick Leddy. Brad Wilson

May 2014 – In Nilsson’s career he had never eclipsed a 3.00GAA and had never fallen into the sub .900(SV %) department at any level, until this past season. His game was improved at the AHL level but he wasn’t able to carry it over to an Islanders jersey. A 3.11(GAA) and a .896(SV %) in his 19 games with the big club was enough to convince the Isles that he wasn’t going to be the future of the crease any time soon. The Islanders acquired Halak from Washington all but ending any chance Nilsson had of harnessing the reins of the net-minding train. Nabokov is UFA in July and Nilsson is RFA. Should the Islanders look to one of them to come back to work with Halak, they would no doubt be looking at 30ish games. Not only is Halak injury prone but he has also never ventured into the 60-games-played realm. Although I'll never say never, it's likely he logs 50ish games this year leaving opportunity for a 1b situation to unfold. Brad Wilson

March 2014 – Nilsson replaced Nabakov in the Isles net for the third period against the Devils. New Jersey had built a 5-1 lead but Nilsson prevented it from getting further out of hand. He was impressive, turning aside 15 of 16 shots with the only one that got by being on the power-play. Brad Wilson

March 2014 – Once again, Nilsson has been summoned from the Sound Tigers and will serve as Nabakov's backup against the Devils in his return. He has been playing very well of late in the AHL, winning his last six games with a 2.67GAA and .910 save percentage. Unless the Isles re-sign Nabby or bring in a proven starter, Nilsson is likely to be the future of the team. Brad Wilson

January 2014 – Nabakov's inability to stay healthy is proving to be Nilsson's shot at prime time. The veteran net-minder was once again placed on the IR with a lower body injury thus triggering a recall of Anders Nilsson from the Sound Tigers. Nilsson will mostly serve as Poulin's backup while waiting for his shot at the blue ice. Brad Wilson

December 2013 – Nilsson has been returned to the Sound Tigers of the AHL. He used his five showings with the big club to scratch his name onto the goaltending picture a bit more. There was flashes of what he may be capable of but more games in the AHL are needed. Better he start in the AHL than backup in NHL.. at least at this point. Brad Wilson.

December 2013 – Nilsson has been doing his best to make the most of his current call-up to the big club. As of this writing, he is preparing to make his third consecutive start after posting two overtime losses where he displayed an ability to compete at the NHL level. With Nabokov nearing a return from his groin injury, Nilsson will look to prove he is deserved of the backup role over Poulin. After his small sample, Nilsson is showing better numbers than any of the Isles tenders. With a current seven game losing skid, the Isles would be best served to give their rookie a chance to run with his current play. Brad Wilson

November 2013 – Nilsson was recalled by the Islanders after starter, Nabokov went down with a groin injury. Nilsson hasn't had stellar numbers for the Sound Tigers this season, however the whole team has struggled at times. Look for Poulin to get the bulk of starts but expect Nilsson to put his best foot forward when given the chance to show what he can do. I believe him to be the better of the two tenders. Brad Wilson

October 2013 – Anders Nilsson was sent down to the Sound Tigers at the NHL roster deadline. He will serve as the number one guy for the AHL farm club. Brad Wilson   September 2013 – Nilsson seems to have had the better pre-season thus far between he and fellow prospect Kevin Poulin. The two are battling for the back-up role on the big club. Nilsson was at one time considered the better prospect and it is again starting to look like that may be the case. With Nabokov slotted as the starter for the upcoming season, it is a question of what would be better for Nilsson’s development, a year watching how the pro’s go about their preparation day-in-day-out, or as the main guy for the Sound Tigers. At this point, Poulin and Nilsson have shared equal pre-season time as the Isles attempt to make the correct decision for the development of both young tenders. Brad Wilson

April 2013 – Anders Nilsson is a goaltender possessing enormous size, but is also surprisingly agile. His size allows him to effectively cover the bottom half of the net and his positional game is generally solid. Sometimes he can be caught scrambling to get back into position after making the initial save. After a solid rookie campaign with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers in 2011-12, Nilsson struggled the first half of this year, posting a 3.14 GAA and .896 SV% in 19 games. This first half struggle meant fellow goaltending prospect Kevin Poulin was the one to get the call in March when the Isles (finally) sent down Rick DiPietro. Unfortunately for Nilsson, he has yet to get a start since DiPietro’s demotion so it remains to be seen how the Swede will respond in the short term. Nilsson still finds himself in a good position on Long Island, as for now Poulin appears to be his only direct long-term competition. With the Islanders in a playoff position at the moment , they may elect to resign soon-to-be 38 year-old UFA Evgeni Nabokov for next season (or sign another veteran) instead of splitting time between two youngsters. Nathan Kanter

 

Fantasy Outlook: B-

The emergence of other goalie prospects in Edmonton have slimmed his chances at staying around for long. His recent performance, however, indicates he may have turned a corner in his career. Look for some spot starts this season.

 

Footage:

 

Nilsson makes two great saves in the SEL

 

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Highlights from Nilsson's 33-save performance on March 2012 vs Devils

 

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Buy the latest Fantasy Prospects Report here.

 

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