The younger brother of Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Niedermayer, Rob Niedermayer enjoyed a long and successful NHL career in his own right, even spending four seasons as Scott's teammate and winning the Stanley Cup together in Anaheim in 2007.

Rob, a center from Cassiar, British Columbia, became the first selection in the history of the Florida Panthers when he was selected with the No. 5 pick in the 1993 NHL Draft. Niedermayer was still 18 when he had an assist in his NHL debut against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 9, 1993, and he scored his first goal eight days later against the Ottawa Senators.

Niedermayer's best offensive season came with the Panthers in 1995-96. He scored 26 goals and had 61 points in 82 regular-season games, then had eight points (five goals, three assists) in 22 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help Florida advance to the Cup Final, where it was swept by the Colorado Avalanche.

After five more seasons with Florida, Niedermayer was traded to the Calgary Flames on June 23, 2001. He played two seasons with the Flames before they sent him to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on March 11, 2003.

Three months later, he watched his older brother win the Stanley Cup after the Mighty Ducks were defeated by the New Jersey Devils in Game 7 of the Cup Final.

However, Scott signed with Anaheim ahead of the 2005-06 season because he wanted to try and win a championship with his brother, and in 2006-07, the Niedermayer brothers were part of the first Stanley Cup championship in Ducks history after defeating the Senators in five games. Though his older brother was voted winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, Rob also contributed, getting 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 21 games.

Niedermayer remained with the Ducks for two more seasons, played one season each with the Devils and Buffalo Sabres, then spent one more season with Lugano in the Swiss National League before retiring in 2012.

Niedermayer ended his NHL career with 469 points (186 goals, 283 assists) in 1,153 regular-season games, and 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists) in 116 playoff games.