Nino Niederreiter Sent Back to Juniors

Filed under: Islanders, Eastern, NHL Draft, Junior Hockey

As noted on FanHouse earlier this week, this is a crucial week for a number of high draft picks from this past summer. NHL teams are allowed to keep their draft picks as long as they want, but if they stay past the ninth game of that team's season, the season counts on their entry-level contract.

For the New York Islanders, the promise of a young star on the roster has given way to the sense of letting him get better in juniors. The team sent forward Nino Niederreiter back to the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League, according to a tweet by FanHouse senior writer Chris Botta.

As a result, Niederreiter's entry-level deal -- assuming the Islanders don't bring him back at some point -- won't kick in until next season.

 

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