Thimo Nickl (born 4 December 2001) is an Austrian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

who is currently playing for

EC KAC Klagenfurt Athletic Sports Club or EC KAC () is an Austrian professional ice hockey team in the ICE Hockey League. The team plays their home games in Klagenfurt, Carinthia, Austria at Stadthalle. EC KAC has won the most Austrian ice hockey Cham ...

of the

ICE Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League, ICEHL), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria. It c ...

(ICEHL). Nickl was drafted by the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

, 120th overall, in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Nickl began his career with hometown club

in Klagenfurt and worked his way through the club's youth teams. He made his adult debut for the club in October 2016 in the

Alps Hockey League The Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in Central Europe. The league is made up of teams from Austria, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia. It was established in 2016 as a result of a merger between Serie A and the Int ...

. In 2019, he joined

Drummondville Voltigeurs The Drummondville Voltigeurs are a Canadian junior ice hockey team of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The franchise was originally granted for the 1982–83 season, and is based in Drummondville, Quebec, playing its home game ...

in the

Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

. Nickl was drafted in the 4th round, 104th overall, in the 2020 NHL entry draft by the

. In the process, he became the first Austrian player ever selected by the club and the first player from Klagenfurt ever taken in the draft by any team. In 2020, the player remained in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and joined

Rögle BK Rögle BK (Rögle Bandyklubb) is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Ängelholm that has been playing in the SHL since the 2015–16 season. Rögle has previously played in the SHL (previously named Elitserien) in 1992–1996, 2008–20 ...

of the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...

. During the season, he was loaned out to

AIK IF Allmänna Idrottsklubben Ishockeyförening (abbreviated ''AIK IF'', also known as ''AIK Hockey'', often abbreviated ''AIK'' in hockey subjects), is the ice hockey department of sports club AIK based in Stockholm, Sweden. Since 2014, AIK's men's ...

. During the loan, Nickl recorded ten points in thirty-eight appearances, prompting AIK to sign the player permanently the following season. On 30 March 2023, it was announced that Nickl's

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

rights had been traded to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

in exchange for Judd Caulfield. Following three seasons of playing in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, Nickl signed with the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (sometimes known as the WBS Penguins) are a professional ice hockey team based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Pengui ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

in July 2023 with the Penguins organization retaining his league rights until 1 June 2024. With the contract, he became the first-ever player from Austria to join Wilkes-Barre. Nickl was assigned to the Penguins'

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

affiliate, the

Wheeling Nailers The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey Lea ...

, in October 2023. In the process, he became the first-ever Austrian player to join the club. He made his debut for the club on 15 October 2023 in a game against the

Cincinnati Cyclones The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Originally established in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at Heri ...

in the Nailers' opening game of the

2023–24 ECHL season The 2023–24 ECHL season was the 36th season of the ECHL. The regular season began on October 19, 2023, and ended on April 14, 2024, with the 2024 Kelly Cup playoffs to follow. Twenty-eight teams, all of which are affiliated with an NHL team, ...

. Within the first three minutes, Nickl assisted on a goal by

David Jankowski David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

in the eventual 4–1 victory. He scored his first professional goal in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

against the

Reading Royals The Reading Royals are a professional ice hockey team that currently plays in the ECHL. The team participates in the North Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The Royals play their home games at the Santander Arena located in downtown R ...

on 5 November. In February 2024, it was announced that Nickl had re-signed for

and would return to the club by summer 2024, at the latest. The deal included the European rights for the player and various exit clauses. He was re-activated on the Nailers roster in March 2024 to finish out the ECHL season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

*
Wheeling Nailers profileECHL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nickl, Thimo 2001 births Living people AIK IF players Anaheim Ducks draft picks Austrian ice hockey defencemen Austrian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Drummondville Voltigeurs players EC KAC players Mora IK players Rögle BK players Wheeling Nailers players 21st-century Austrian sportsmen