It's homecoming time on two fronts for California-born
Matt Nieto when the Avalanche play in Anaheim on Thursday and end the brief road trip Saturday in San Jose.
Here are the
GAME NOTES.
Nieto, 24, is from Long Beach, and he was planning to have dinner at home with his girlfriend on Wednesday and spend some time with his dog, a Rottweiler, after arriving from Denver.
He lives about 20 minutes from the Honda Center and said there will be plenty of family members and friends in attendance Thursday. Then it's on to San Jose, where he played parts of four seasons before the Avalanche claimed him on waivers Jan. 5.
"It's always fun playing in your hometown and being able to see everybody," he said. "It'll be interesting going back to (San Jose) and playing on the opposing team. We'll see how it goes. I have a lot of good friends on that team, so it should be fun and hopefully we can come out of there with a win."
Nieto has played four games with Colorado. He has a goal, an assist, eight shots and owns an even plus/minus figure. He had two assists in 16 games with San Jose.
He'll play his third consecutive game Thursday while at right wing on a line with
Gabriel Landeskog and
Matt Duchene.
He had an assist on Landeskog's first-period goal Saturday against Nashville and scored his first goal of the season in the second period Tuesday against Chicago, driving to the net after taking a Landeskog pass and stuffing the puck between goalie
Corey Crawford's pads.
"He made a great play, knocking that puck out of the air," Nieto said. "We had an odd-man rush and he had great patience to wait that defender out and then giving me the puck so I had a lane to the net. I was able to squeeze it in the 5-hole."
It's the kind of goal the Avalanche need more of, going to the hard areas of the ice. The speedy Nieto showed he's willing to do that despite being generously listed as 5-feet-11 and 190 pounds.
“A couple things stand out for me: he plays with pace, he's always moving his feet, skating," coach Jared Bednar said. "He’s gritty for a little guy, he goes to the hard areas. I see him making plays with and without the puck on the offensive side of things and also on the defensive side of things. So he’s been a nice addition to our team, there’s no question about it. He's a real smart penalty killer as well.”
Nieto is excited about his new lease on life with the Avalanche, even though they have the worst record (13-28-1) in the NHL and the Sharks (27-16-2) are in the hunt for first place in the Pacific Division.
Nieto was a healthy scratch in 13 of 16 games before the Sharks put him on waivers, and he'd much rather be playing.
"I wasn’t playing much in San Jose and I could sense something was going to happen," he said. "I’m really fortunate that Colorado gave me the opportunity to come here and play. You're always nervous at first, but all the guys were welcoming.
"I'm starting to catch on to the systems, and playing with two great players always helps. Players like Landy and Dutch are guys that make others better. Two world-class players, just trying to make the most of it. It's on me to work for guys like that, getting on the forecheck. I think I can make plays too."
A number of NHL players have come from southern California in recent years. Nieto got his start at age 3 when his grandfather gave him a plastic stick. He played some roller hockey and became a Ducks fan, much to the chagrin of his grandfather, a Los Angeles Kings fan.
Nieto began to play organized ice hockey, showed potential and eventually played for the Kings youth hockey team. He signed with the U.S. National Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 2008 and played two seasons with the Under 17 and 18 teams before heading to Boston University, where in three years he had 102 points (44 goals, 58 assists) in 115 games.
A second-round pick (No. 47) of the Sharks in 2011, Nieto had his best season in 2014-15 when he had 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in 72 games. He had 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 67 games last year, with a goal and two assists in 16 playoff games.
"I'm just trying to make the most of this opportunity," said Nieto, who is on a one-year, $735,000 contract and will be a restricted free agent July 1. "They gave me the chance and it's up to me now."
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