How Frans Nielsen's 'Danish Backhand' was Born

Frans Nielsen, the most successful Islanders shootout ace in team history, scored 42 shootout goals from 2006- 2016 with the Islanders. Nielsen is known for his trademark backhand, which led to multiple Islander victories over the course of his NHL career.
Nielsen made his NHL debut with the Islanders in 2007. After playing a few games but never having scored an NHL goal, he stepped up to the plate on February 13, 2007. He was the first player up in a shootout against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He used his trademark backhand shot, now coined the "Danish backhand" to score his first NHL goal.

Islanders coach Ted Nolan witnessed Nielsen practicing shootout moves the morning of the game.
"We were doing shootouts in the morning at morning skate, and I think I went five for five and Teddy saw it. And then we went to a shootout and I think Toronto started, so he came up and tapped me on the back and said 'you're going first and if you miss, you're going back to Bridgeport" Nielsen said with a laugh. "I still don't know today if he was joking."

Before joining the New York Islanders, Nielsen played for the AHL's Bridgeport Islanders, where he scored 12 goals in 41 games. His fresh appearance in the NHL led to a sense of unpredictability when he stepped up to take his first shootout against Toronto. The announcer of the game even stated, "We have no idea what this guy's favorite move is."
Nielsen described a feeling of nostalgia when he scored the shootout goal.
"Like I said, the trips we took to Toronto as kids, I had been in the arena before, and dreamt about playing in the NHL, and suddenly I played in the Air Canada Centre in Toronto and I'm taking a shootout, it was a wild moment."
The "Danish backhand" is a move Islanders fans looked forward to watching whenever Nielsen played. He described practicing the shot for months until he was able to make it work.
Nielsen was the first Danish player to be drafted in the NHL. He was drafted 87th overall to the Islanders in 2002, where he played 10 seasons. He played 606 games with the Islanders, tallying up 349 points (119G, 230A). In the 2013-14 season he tallied up 58- points, a career high. Nielsen played in the NHL for 15 seasons, played in nine World Championships, and played in the 2022 Winter Olympics. He officially retired this year following Denmark's elimination at the World Championship.