(pronunciation = Rob NEE-duhr-migh-uhr)
Shoots: Left
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 204
Born: December 28, 1974 in Cassiar, British Columbia
Personal Information.....
Marital Status: Single
Nickname: "Nieds"
Other interests: fishing, hunting, golf, tennis, water skiing, card collecting, reading and country music
Family: Brother, Scott, is a defenceman with the New Jersey Devils (#27), mother, Carol, is a skating instructor; father, Bob, is a doctor.
Resides in Cranbrook, B.C. during the summer, where he and brother Scott share a house.

Personal: Rob is single and spends his summers in Cranbrook, British Columbia...His older brother Scott, 27, is a defenseman with the New Jersey Devils...Rob's father, Bob, is a doctor (general practitioner) in Cranbrook...His mother, Carol, is a former power skating instructor...His hobbies include fishing, golfing, hunting, hiking, tennis, water skiing and reading...He also enjoys watching Notre Dame football and the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and listening to Garth Brooks music...His hockey hero is Wayne Gretzky.

Career:
How Acquired: Panthers' first choice (fifth overall) in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.

NHL Entry Draft: Only four players were chosen ahead of Rob in 1993...They were Alexandre Daigle (by Ottawa), Chris Pronger (by Hartford), Chris Gratton (by Tampa Bay) and Paul Kariya (by Anaheim).

Rob Niedermayer was drafted fifth overall in the 1993 Entry Draft by the Florida Panthers. That year, he made his NHL debut on October 6 with an assist against the Blackhawks. Eight nights later, he scored his first goal on October 14 against the Senators. Rob played 65 games as a teenage rookie that season and scored 26 points. In the shortened 1994-95 season, Rob played all 48 games and scored ten points. In 1995-96, Rob played all 82 games and scored 26 goals and 61 points. More importantly, he helped the team reach the playoffs for the first time in club history. In the post-season, he helped the Panthers win the Prince of Wales Trophy in the Eastern Conference finals before losing to the Avalanche in the Stanley Cup finals. After being limited to 60 games (38 points) during the 1996-97 season, Rob played only 33 games (15 points) in 1997-98. Junior: Played three full seasons and part of a fourth with WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers...In 1992-1993, was named First Team WHL East All-Star after collecting 77 points (43 goals, 34 assists) in 52 games...Won gold medal with Canada at World Junior Championships and captured WHL's Top Prospect Award.

1993-1994: Made NHL debut as 18-year-old, notching a point (an assist) in his and Panthers' first-ever game (October 6 at Chicago)...Finished with nine goals and 17 assists in 65 outings...Tied for fifth among NHL rookies in game-winning goals (2)...Scored first NHL goal on October 14 vs. Ottawa...Missed 15 games after suffering Grade-3 separation of right shoulder on November 18 against Chicago.

1994-1995: Because of NHL work stoppage, returned to junior team in Medicine Hat and recorded nine goals and 15 assists in 13 WHL games...Returned to Florida when NHL season commenced in January...Had four goals and six assists in 48 games...One of five Panthers to appear in every contest (Mellanby, Fitzgerald, Lindsay, Hough)...Played final 10 games of season at right wing.

1995-1996: Enjoyed breakthrough season, posting career highs in goals (26), assists (35) and points (61)...Ranked among the Panthers leaders in goals (third), assists (third), points (second), power-play scores (third with 11), game-winning tallies (third with six), penalty minutes (fifth with 107) and shots (fourth with 155)...One of three Panthers (Garpenlov, Fitzgerald) to appear in every contest...Scored first goal of game seven times and was named "first star" on five occasions...Reeled off season-high six-game point streak (4-3-7) from October 28-November 7...Scored goals in back-to-back games on six different occasions...Had five goals and three assists in 22 playoff contests, but two of his scores were game winners...In Game 4 against the Flyers (May 9), scored first two career playoff goals in opening 8:23 of match...Notched game and series-clincher in Game 6 against the Flyers (May 14)...His next goal was the winner in Game 6 of Penguin series (May 30)...It came with 6:02 left in regulation and broke a 3-3 tie.

1996-1997: Had 14 goals and 24 assists in 60 games with the Panthers...Ranked fifth on the team in assists and sixth in points (38)...Had only two-goal game on October 6 at NY Rangers (5-2 win)...Recorded 100th NHL point (an assist) on October 12 vs. Hartford...Played 200th NHL game on October 16 at San Jose...Sprained right knee on November 22 at Dallas and missed 17 games before returning on January 1 vs. Anaheim...Had five goals and five assists in 21 games at time of injury...On February 27, scored game-winning goal at 3:50 of OT to defeat St. Louis, 3-2...On March 13, attempted penalty shot (unsuccessful) against Vancouver's Corey Hirsch...Missed five games in March, two with groin strain and three with bruised left wrist...Closed season with four-game point streak (3-2-5)...Scored a goal in four of last six contests...Went 8-13-21 in 31 home games and 6-11-17 in 29 road games...Six of his 14 goals and 17 of his 38 points were recorded against Atlantic Division foes...Panthers were 27-19-14 with him, but just 8-9-5 without him...Had two goals and one assist in five playoff contests...Led team in shooting percentage (40.0 percent) during the postseason.

1997-1998: Had eight goals and seven assists in 33 games with the Panthers...Tied for third on the team in power-play scores (5)...Scored a goal, but suffered concussion on opening night in Philadelphia (October 1)...Missed 10 games before returning on October 30 vs. Ottawa...Played nine games (2-2-4) before dislocating right thumb on November 18 vs. NY Rangers...Missed 15 contests before returning on December 20 at Philadelphia...Scored two goals, including winner at 1:53 of OT, in 2-1 triumph over New Jersey on January 1...Had two points (one goal, one assist) the following night in Tampa Bay and one assist on January 4 vs. Anaheim...Had five goals and three assists in 13 games from December 20-January 14...Underwent arthroscopic surgery on left knee during All-Star break and missed eight contests before returning on February 7 at Toronto...Played 10 games (0-2-2), the last on March 17 vs. Vancouver, before being sidelined for season because of post-concussion syndrome...Went 3-4-7 in 16 home games and 5-3-8 in 17 road games.

1998-1999: Completed sixth NHL season and sixth with the Panthers...Ranked among the team leaders in goals (tied for fourth with 18), assists (third with 33), points (tied for second with 51), power-play scores (second with six) and shots (fifth with 142)...Played every game after missing 22 in 1996-1997 and 49 in 1997-1988...One of only three Panthers (Dvorak and Muller were the others) to appear in every contest...Was Florida's nominee for the NHL's Masterton Award (perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey)...Recorded 12 of his 18 goals and 30 of his 51 points in first 39 games...Went scoreless in first five contests before notching first point (an assist) on October 24 in Washington...Scored two goals and added assist to tie career high of three points in 7-3 win at Chicago on October 30...Had four goals and four assists in seven-game stretch from October 24-November 7...Played 300th NHL game on November 7 vs. New Jersey...Notched two assists on November 27 at Tampa Bay (2-1 win) and scored two goals the following night vs. Buffalo (6-2 win)...That began a stretch that saw him collect 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists) in nine games from November 27-December 19...Scored goal and notched 100th NHL assist in 6-5 win over Ottawa on December 9...Reeled off four-game point streak from January 6-13, collecting two goals and three assists over span...Had a goal and an assist on January 13 vs. Toronto as Panthers scored three unanswered goals in third period to gain 3-3 tie...Scored first shorthanded goal of NHL career on February 3 vs. Toronto to cement 5-2 win...Recorded another four-game point streak (2-2-4) from March 13-21...Collected 200th NHL point (an assist) on April 12 at Ottawa...Went 11-18-29 in 41 home games and 7-15-22 in 41 road games.

1999-2000: Completed seventh NHL season and seventh with the Panthers...Ranked among the team leaders in hits (first, 211), face-offs taken (first, 1632), face-offs won (first 782), game-winning goals (second, 4) and assists (seventh, 23)...Assisted on GWG March 23 at Boston...Posted two assists March 10 at Tampa Bay...Missed game March 4 vs. St. Louis with head injury...Notched two points with goal and assist on GWG February 24 at Carolina...Logged seven hits and went 12-of-16 (75 percent) in face-offs February 21 vs. Ottawa...Led both teams with five hits and surpassed previous season's hit total (152) on February 9 vs. San Jose...Notched two assists, including one on GWG, with two hits and three take-aways January 17 vs. Philadelphia...Scored GWG and was 9-of-15 (60 percent) in face-offs January 15 at Tampa Bay...Scored a goal and posted four hits and three take-aways January 14 vs. Carolina...Played in 400th NHL/Panthers game December 17 at Buffalo...Led both teams in face-offs (November 13, 84 percent) November 24 vs. Philadelphia...Led both teams with a team season-high 11 hits November 20 vs. Pittsburgh...Scored GWG with 16 seconds remaining November 17 at Colorado...Scored GWG and assist November 10 vs. Atlanta...Posted three-point game (1-2-3), led all Panthers in ice time (26:30), was plus-three and went 17-of-27 on face-offs November 6 at Calgary...Figured on GWG or GTG in three straight Panthers home games October 9-20...Scored GWG (first goal of season) and tied for team lead (Parrish) in hits (6) October 20 vs. Vancouver...Posted two assists, including on GWG, and led Panthers in hits (5), face-offs (17/23 for 73 percent) and shots (5) October 16 vs. Anaheim...Assisted on GTG October 9 vs. Detroit.

On June 23, 2001, Rob was traded with a second-round draft pick to the Calgary Flames for Valeri Bure and Jason Wiemer.

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