McNiven is a quick, athletic goaltender who plays very high in the crease. He has an exceptional
glove hand and excellent rebound control. McNiven moves across the crease very
quickly, with a powerful lateral push, but has some control issues while sliding. Tends to slide
out of position and leave open net exposed on the side he came from. He is a positionally sound
keeper and plays his angles well on first shot chances. For a young goaltender, he seemed to
come into the OHL with an abundance of confidence. McNiven has some difficulty playing the
puck, panicking under pressure and turning it over by knocking it around the wall. McNiven
fights through traffic in his crease to see the puck and always seems to have eyes on the puck,
tracking it well even when play is at the opposite end. He doesn’t possess the six-foot-four frame
NHL teams like to see, but at the same time, he is not a small guy either. He actually looks pretty
wide in the crease. Needs to be more consistent in sealing off the ice with his pads as shots can
get under him. Can kick out some juicy rebounds as well. Was not the same after getting semilit
up at the CHL Top Prospects Game in January. His confidence seemed to take a hit and he
never fully recovered afterwards.  (May 2015)