Bradly Nadeau made his National Hockey League debut for the Carolina Hurricanes in their regular season-ending 6-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets in Columbus on Tuesday night.
Nadeau, who recently completed his freshman season for the University of Maine and was an All-Hockey East second team and All-Rookie team choice after leading the Black Bears in scoring, didn’t register a goal or an assist but had three shots on goal and played the second-most minutes of any of the Hurricanes forwards: 19 minutes and 8 seconds.
The Hurricanes have already locked up a playoff spot and rested several regulars enabling Nadeau and University of North Dakota Hobey Baker Award finalist Jackson Blake to make their NHL debuts.
Blake is a sophomore at North Dakota and he had two shots on goal in 15:18 of playing time.
Nadeau was a minus-three in plus-minus and Blake was minus-two.
Players get a plus-one if they are on the ice when their team scores an even-strength or shorthanded goal and a minus-one if the opponent scores one..
UMass junior defenseman Scott Morrow played in his second NHL game.
All signed entry level contracts with the Hurricanes, who had drafted them.
Nadeau, a first round pick last summer and the 30th overall selection, was playing left wing on a line with Evgeny Kutznetsov and Jesper Fast.
“It was a fun night,” said Nadeau on the Carolina Hurricanes’ website. “Unfortunately, we didn’t come up with the win but there were a lot of positives to take away from that game.
“We’ll see where it goes from here.”
He also said he felt “pretty good out there.
“I got to play with Evgeny and Jesper, two good players. It was fun to finally get to experience this, have some chances, and play my first NHL game with those guys,” added the 18-year-old Nadeau.
Nadeau’s immediate future is unclear. The Hurricanes have to submit a 24-man playoff roster including four reserve players.
Nadeau had 19 goals and 27 assists in 37 games to help the Black Bears earn their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011-12 this past season. His older brother Josh, also a freshman, was the second leading scorer with 18 goals and 27 assists.
