It's Good to be Nied-y.

The month of January has been kind to Scott Niedermayer.  Later this month, he will see his number 28 retired by the Kamloops Blazers, a team that he played for prior to joining the NHL.  Yes, he wore 27 in the NHL, but there was a time he wore a different number.  Regardless of number, he excelled there and in his time in the NHL, which included three Stanley Cups with the Devils and Ducks and a gold medal with Canada in 2002 and 2010.

Today, he will be rejoining the Ducks in the role of one of the assistant coaches on Bruce Boudreau's staff.  What this could mean is that Niedermayer will be a mentor to the likes of Luca Sbisa, Cam Fowler, and some of the younger players entering their first year with the Ducks like Emerson Etem.  Certainly, Niedermayer will bring a winning pedigree to the coaching staff and the familiarity with some of the current Ducks can only help.  One hope is that he will be able to find a way to motivate Ryan Getzlaf, who became captain after Niedermayer retired in 2010.  Getzlaf has seen his numbers fall off in the last two years and there are some rumblings (including this scribe) concerning his ability to lead the team.