(Buffalo) Decidedly, the agricultural community is a rich vein for the 2023 draft of the National League.
Cataracts defenseman Jordan Tourigny told us about his work on the family farm in Victoriaville earlier this week. Another prospect, forward Easton Cowan, told us he was washing tractors and heavy machinery on land in Mount Brydges, London area.
Bradly Nadeau, an Acadian from Saint-François-de-Madawaska, also lived on 30 acres. But in his case, the family farm is doubled by an excavation business, and it is above all this sector of activity that occupied Nadeau.
“I excavated with my father, he taught it to my brother and I, tells us the New Brunswicker, at the National League evaluation camp for the draft. We spent time with family and worked at the same time. »
His role ? “I did the shovel, the digger, and I drove the sand trucks. It’s not too complicated, but I had to do it on private property because I didn’t have my licenses! »
The father, who had just returned from Montreal for a purchase of machinery when he answered the call from La Presse, believes that Nadeau began to maneuver the machinery “around the age of 10”. “He and his brother, pretty much everything you make them do, they’re good,” says John Nadeau. They heated shovels and bulls. And they were making hay. There aren’t enough hours in a day on the farm! If you want to start off on the right foot, you have to work. I too was raised on the farm. You get up, you work! »
And this learning, it was used in hockey? “I think so because working is not a burden for them. »
In his corner of the country, Bradly Nadeau was far from the NHL, literally and figuratively. At 539 km, Montreal is the closest market to his home. This is why he has, to date, attended only one Bettman Tour game in person.
And minor hockey in Saint-François, a village of 470 inhabitants as of 2016, obviously offers limited opportunities. Up to the atom level, he played recreational hockey with all age groups. Starting at the peewee level, he had to register in Edmundston, a 40-minute drive away.
“When he fell bantam, it was three hours round trip to go to training in Perth-Andover,” said John Nadeau. We did average mileage! But it wasn’t hard because he liked it. I would pick him up from school at 4:30 a.m., we would come home at 11 a.m. We traveled 15 hours a week. It’s funny, I see parents who have to drive 20 minutes to drop off their child and they find it far. If I had to start over, I would do it again, because our children do not stay young all their lives. »
These heavy logistics did not prevent Bradly Nadeau from developing, because here he is, at 18, the BCHL’s top scorer, the BC Junior B circuit, with 113 points in 54 games for the Penticton Vees. His statistics are comparable to those obtained by Tyson Jost (104 points in 48 games) in his draft year. Jost is the highest drafted player in Vees history (10th in 2016), but he’s been slow to take off in the NHL.
“He can hurt you as much with his shooting as with his creativity. He’s always around the puck. He’s a good player on 200 feet,” an NHL scout, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted.
2nd in BCHL scoring: his big brother, Josh. If they went through Penticton, it’s because they opted for the NCAA. Both are expected at the University of Maine next season. At 5’8″, however, Josh was passed over in the 2022 draft, the first he was eligible for.
“Growing up, I always wanted to play in the major junior, explains Bradly Nadeau. Coming from New Brunswick, I wasn’t thinking of the NCAA. But the year of my junior draft, I weighed 140 lbs, I was small. I had heard that the NCAA allowed more time to get physically stronger and grow. »
He still needs to gain some trunk, at 5’10” and 161 lbs. But his progress places him today among the interesting hopes of the repechage. NHL Central Scouting ranks him 17th among North American skaters, and most pundits expect him somewhere in the second round, if not late in the first round.
“I don’t really have any expectations, second or third round,” he admits. I don’t want to set my hopes too high or too low. »
This week, he was meeting 25 teams, including the Canadiens. He will leave Buffalo on Saturday, like everyone else, and return to Penticton to complete his school year and graduate from high school. Before heading to British Columbia, however, he was invited to the home evaluation camp organized by the Maple Leafs, holders of the 28th choice, in Toronto.
If the Leafs – or any other team – don’t select him, the Canadiens will have two chances to do so: at the very end of the first round (Panthers’ pick) or with his own pick at 37th overall.
