Andrew Nielsen playing a pre-season game for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2016.On the final day before the international transfer window closed, 28-year-old Canadian defenseman Andrew Nielsen moved from the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies to Södertälje SK of Sweden’s second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan.
Södertälje will be the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Nielsen’s fourth team this season after playing for three ECHL teams, recording 28 points and 101 penalty minutes in 43 games.
“Andrew is a big defender who likes to use his body, has good offensive skills and a great shot,” said Södertälje club sports director Emil Georgsson. “We had a few different ideas for a defenseman but felt that this type is the one we can get the most benefit from.”
Originally from Red Deer, Alta., Nielsen played junior hockey for the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes and was taken in the third round, 65th overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Nielsen never played an NHL regular season game but played 277 AHL regular-season and playoff games between 2016 and 2023 in the systems of the Leafs, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals, Colorado Avalanche, Arizona Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets. He was a member of the Toronto Marlies’ Calder Cup championship team in 2017-18.
This will be Nielsen’s third tour of duty in Europe. He played 15 games in Austria for the Linz Black Wings in 2020-21 when pandemic restrictions delayed the start of the AHL season, and then split the 2023-24 season between Vålerenga in Norway and Banská Bystrica in Slovakia.
Nielsen joins a Södertälje team that sits fourth in the 14-team HockeyAllsvenskan in the quest to earn a promotion to the SHL. The team’s roster includes 19-year-old Florida Panthers prospect Albert Wikman and Danish national team forward Nicolai Meyer.