Scott Niedermayer is looking forward to playing with his brother, Rob, in Anaheim this season.

Niedermayer embraces
new challenges
By Jerry Burke | Special to NHL.com
Sept. 1, 2005

Scott Niedermayer's decision to sign with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in August had the obvious tie of uniting him with his brother, Rob.

But there was another significant factor in Niedermayer's decision to leave the New Jersey Devils, namely a new set of challenges.

New Jersey has been home and brought a sense of the familiar to Niedermayer. He had spent nearly 900 regular-season games in a Devils uniform and 12 full NHL seasons. Niedermayer was used to the Devils' way of playing, used to seeing Martin Brodeur as his goalie, used to having players like Scott Stevens around him, and a return to New Jersey for 2005-06 would have seen Larry Robinson once again behind the bench for the Devils.

But most of all, being in New Jersey meant winning. The 2004 Norris Trophy winner had won Stanley Cups with the Devils in 1995, 2000 and 2003.

A move away from New Jersey meant a step into the unknown, a new chapter in his career, a new adventure.

"I'll feel a lot like a rookie," he said. "I'll have to be on my toes.

"I've been with that organization for 14 years," Niedermayer said after signing with the Mighty Ducks on Aug. 4. "That's half my life at this point. Obviously New Jersey has been great for me. I've had some good times and some tough times and Lou (Lamoriello, New Jersey's GM) was there every step of the way.

"It was tough," said Niedermayer, who was drafted third overall by the Devils in 1991. "There was no reason to want to leave New Jersey. It was more that there were more reasons to go to Anaheim."

Scott, 31, said the challenge of playing in a new city was a bigger factor than his desire to be teammates with Rob, 30. He also listed being close to his parents, who live in British Columbia, and his in-laws, who have a place in Palm Springs, Calif.

"In New Jersey, I was very comfortable," Scott said. "I knew exactly how everything worked and all I had to do was play hockey. This is going to be a new experience. I think an exciting part of life is doing new and different things."

Needless to say, the Mighty Ducks are mighty happy to have landed a proven, elite defenseman who is one of the League's top skaters. Depending upon who you talked to, Niedermayer was the class of the 2004 free-agent crop and for new Ducks GM Brian Burke, it was a chance to make sure everyone knew he was deadly serious about improving his team's fortunes.

"This was a no-brainer to go after," Burke said of signing Niedermayer. "This guy is a proven winner and he has the jewelry to prove it."

for his part, Niedermayer admitted that Burke's sale pitch was effective. Ironically, Burke played for Lamoriello at Providence College and was instrumental in Burke getting his start in a hockey management role.

"With Brian Burke and his track record, that was a big part of it," Niedermayer said. "I just felt I wanted to have new challenges in life, do different things, try different things."

If anyone needed a character reference about Niedermayer, it was supplied by Lamoriello after Niedermayer's decision left New Jersey with a huge gap to fill on defense.

"The years that Scotty has been here, I think our record and his record speaks for itself," Lamoriello said. "There's no more quality of an individual on the on the ice, off the ice, family man. We have tremendous respect for him."

Needless to say, there is great anticipation about seeing Niedermayer in a Ducks jersey this season. And to the shock of no one, brother Rob is especially eager to see his brother in the same uniform.

"He can bring a lot with his skating, can open up the ice," Rob told reporters after re-signing with the Mighty Ducks. "It's hard to defend a guy like him, and people don't realize how good he is on defense. I see him fitting in very well, helping our younger players."

"What a defenseman has to do is move the puck," Burke said in anticipation of what Scott is going to bring to the Anaheim cause. "He has to look up and see who's available and get it up ice. But when everybody's covered, he has to have the ability to lug the puck himself and get it into position. I think Scott does that about as well as anybody."

While Scott can embrace the new challenges that a move to the Western Conference brings, signing with Anaheim also provided the chance for the two brother to play together.

The brothers were teammates during their youth hockey days and were teammates with Team Canada at the 2004 World Championships.

"After we played together in the World Championships and kind of got a taste for it, what we experienced there was very special," Rob said. "I didn't know (Scott's signing) was going to come up and when Scott decided to come to Anaheim, I was probably the happiest guy around."

But Rob's happiness level didn't exceed the level of the rest of the Mighty Ducks by much. Because bringing in a defenseman like Niedermayer figures to have a significant impact on the team's fortunes this season.