University of Maine freshman left wing-center Bradly Nadeau knows being a first-round National Hockey League draft choice can put extra pressure on him to produce this season.
But the No. 30 overall pick of the Carolina Hurricanes is ready for the challenge as the Black Bears look to continue their climb up the Hockey East standings
“Pressure is something you earn. I put myself in that situation. I don’t really want to think about it too much because, sometimes, it can hurt you. You don’t perform at your best,” Bradly Nadeau said on Wednesday. “But my goal is to just help the team win and that’s how I’m going to handle it this year.”
Nadeau is just the fourth Black Bear to be chosen in the first round since the inception of the program in the 1977-78 season and the first since winger Barrett Heisten concluded his college career following the 1999-2000 campaign. Heisten was the 20th overall pick by the Buffalo Sabres in 1999. Winger Paul Kariya was the fourth overall pick of Anaheim in 1993 and defenseman Shawn Anderson was the fifth overall selection of Buffalo in 1986.
“I don’t think he’s going to feel any pressure,” said UMaine third-year head coach Ben Barr.
“There are a lot of first round picks in college hockey now. Brad is a fantastic kid. He’s a great player. But he’s not going to come in here and score three goals a night. If he does, awesome, but I’ve yet to see someone do that.”
Nadeau, who turned 18 on May 5, will also likely be the youngest player on the ice for both teams, Barr acknowledged.
Nadeau racked up 113 regular season points on 45 goals and 68 assists in 54 games for Penticton of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League last season and added 35 points on 17 goals and 18 assists in 17 playoff games.
The St. Francoise-de-Madawaska, New Brunswick, native was chosen the regular season and playoff Most Valuable Player as he led Penticton to the regular season title and the Fred Page Cup that goes to the playoff MVP.
His older brother and linemate Josh, who is also a freshman at UMaine, had 44 goals and 66 assists in 54 regular season games and 16 & 20 in 17 playoff games.
Bradly Nadeau said being able to workout with the team during the six-week optional training session in Orono this summer was valuable.
“It definitely helped a lot. I need to get stronger and working with the strength and conditioning coach was really good for that,” Nadeau said.
He said in addition to adapting to playing against bigger, stronger players, he must also adjust to the speed of the players.
“The adjustment is easier to make when you have a good team like ours around you. The other guys can skate just as well so you can pass them the puck and they’ll get you out of trouble, sometimes,” said the 5-foot-10, 161-pound Nadeau.
UMaine senior center and co-captain Lynden Breen, the team’s leading scorer a year ago and an All-America East second team pick, said Bradly Nadeau’s shot is “second to none.”
“I haven’t seen many guys with the release he has. He and Josh are unbelievable players and they have succeeded wherever they’ve been,” said Breen, who has been centering a line between them in practice. “They have been pretty dynamic together. They seem to find each other. They both have the puck on a string. That makes it really easy to play with them.”
Both players will have to adjust to collegiate hockey quickly, Breen said, but he feels it will be an easy one for the brothers to make. He said he has been trying to show them the ropes but that he’s “learned more from them every day than they have probably learned from me right now.”
The Nadeau brothers certainly have chemistry on the ice.
“We have been together [as linemates] the previous two years and having my brother here makes it a lot nicer on the ice. It’s easier to find each other. We have a natural connection and that’s why we score goals,” Bradly said.
The team had its first scrimmage on Wednesday and Barr and Breen feel the team looks good.
“The guys had good energy. Our team speed has improved, which is good. But it’s also about details and all the younger guys have to make sure they are playing the right way away from the puck. But when we have the puck, we can get up the ice quicker with it than we have the last two years,” Barr said.
“We definitely have more speed and we have a lot more talent than last year,” Breen said. “We’ve taken a huge step in that department. We will definitely be making a lot more plays this year which is nice.”
UMaine was just 46th among 60 Division I teams in goals scored last year, averaging only 2.56 per game.
Breen said being picked ninth among 11 teams in the Hockey East preseason coaches poll after finishing tied for sixth last season was frustrating.
“But that gives us motivation. We have expectations from the state and from ourselves. It’s nice to be underdogs and not have expectations from anybody else. It gives us more reason to prove ourselves,” said Breen.
UMaine will play an exhibition game against archrival New Hampshire on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 5 p.m. and will open the season at home against ECAC team Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute the following Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m.
