Colorado Avalanche: Evaluation and Areas of Improvement for Matt Nieto

The Colorado Avalanche’s third line winger, Matt Nieto, had a good season as a third-line staple. Here’s how he can keep on keeping on.

Colorado Avalanche winger Matthew Nieto had a career year for goal scoring and his second-best points total in his year. He saw regular ice time on the third line with Carl Soderberg and Blake Comeau.

Nieto started out the season being a healthy scratch. However, he worked his way back onto the team once he found chemistry on that third line. He even became a mainstay of the Avalanche’s first penalty kill unit.

Not bad for a Long Beach native, eh?

Nieto is never going to be the star of the team — except for that one team he scored a hat trick against the Dallas Stars. However, the 25-year-old has 338 NHL games under his belt. He’s scratched out a role for himself as a journeyman.

So, Matt Nieto had a good season. Let’s look a little more closely at just how good it was and identify some areas of improvement.

Evaluation of Matt Nieto’s 2017-18 Season

Goals: 15
Assists: 11
Shots: 84
Shooting percentage: 17.9%
Faceoff percentage: 30.77%
Takeaway vs. giveaway ratio: 21:12
CF%: 44.5%
CF% Rel: -3.7

Like I said above, Nieto’s 15 goals was the most he’s scored in a season his whole career. That said, he is a player who averages about 14 minutes a game. Interestingly, he’s always been used more for his defensive capabilities. Throughout his career he’s started more in the defensive zone than offensive. Last year 68% of his starts were in the defensive zone.

So, like I said, you don’t expect Nieto to be the offensive star. He can help make plays, though. His best points year, he earned 27 — 10 goals and 17 assists.

I was a little surprised when I saw his shooting percentage of 17.9%. That’s a career-high, and very impressive frankly. His career average is 9.7%, which is still quite decent for a journeyman.

Another statistic I liked for Nieto was his takeaway to giveaway ratio — it’s almost 2:1 in favor of takeaways. He’s responsible with the puck when he has it. Problem is, he doesn’t often have it.

Areas of Improvement for Matt Nieto

More from Mile High Sticking

With Matt Nieto, his spot on the checking line is practically his to lose. If he and Soderberg find chemistry again, especially with Matt Culvert, that could be a solid line for the Colorado Avalanche again. And I liked what I saw from Culvert at the informal camp I attended.

To be honest, Nieto’s 15-goal season may have been an outlier just like his hat trick game. You can’t expect that from your journeyman. Instead, Nieto has to keep on doing the little things right. The team rewarded his efforts last year with a two-year deal worth $1.975 yearly.

He’s got to show he’s worth that contract. And he does that by continuing to be an industrious winger who’s careful with the puck and shows some defensive acumen.

MORE FROM COLORADO AVALANCHE EVALUATION AND ADVICE:

Matt Nieto will get a chance to show his mettle along with the rest of the players starting the second week of September when he reports for training camp.

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