19-year-old forward ready for ‘tough summer’ ahead following NHL debut last season

Bradly Nadeau took part in his second Carolina Hurricanes development camp earlier this month with a certain amount of confidence.

When the Hurricanes selected Nadeau with the No. 30 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, the forward was 18 years old but had yet to compete at the top level of junior hockey. He had two seasons under his belt with Penticton of the British Columbia Hockey League, so his true challenge came when he enrolled at the University of Maine for the 2023-24 season.

“Obviously, it wasn’t an easy jump going from the British Columbia (Hockey) League,” he said. “Going from a skill league to Hockey East, it was kind of a physical league, so it was a tough jump. It was definitely hard every weekend, but the coaches and players I played with helped me make that jump, and that’s kind of why it went well.”

Nadeau led Maine in scoring with 46 points (19 goals, 27 assists) in 37 games. He was selected to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team and earned All-Hockey East Second team honors as well. That performance only raised Carolina’s hopes for the native of Saint-Francois-de-Madawaska, New Brunswick.

“The jump from Penticton (of the BCHL) to the NCAA is honestly probably a bigger jump than what he is going to do next,” Carolina assistant general manager Darren Yorke said. “No disrespect to the league he played in previously, but that’s a huge jump.

“Showing every single asset that he had (at Maine), it’s incredible. It’s a credit to him and the style he plays and the ability to not be afraid to continue and make plays.”

Nadeau made the jump from Penticton to Maine with his brother, Josh, who is 19 months older. Josh finished the season one point behind his brother in scoring (45 points; 18 goals, 27 assists), and together, they accomplished a most unlikely feat over a weekend in December.

Josh recorded a hat trick with Bradly earning the primary assist on all three goals in a 5-2 win against New Hampshire. Two nights later, Bradly scored a hat trick of his own with Josh registering the primary assist on all three goals in a 7-3 win against UConn.

So which goal-scoring performance earned the best reviews?

“I think my brother,” Bradly says. “But that’s OK.”

Josh Nadeau, who attended Carolina’s camp as an invitee for the second straight year, had a different take.

“I got the first one, and he was jealous, so he got the second one the next game,” he said.

Bradly is expected to compete for a roster spot this fall after making his NHL debut in Carolina’s regular-season finale, a 6-3 loss at the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 16. He had three shots and was minus-3 in 19:08 of ice time.

“I could tell that it was way faster, so that’s something that’s a bit of a jump,” he said. “But I felt good out there. [I will] just have to adapt to all the other things, like how physical they are. They pass the puck faster, they play faster. I kind of reflected and I see that it was different than college.”

Nadeau said he plans to take what he learned in his NHL debut and apply it to his offseason.

“Just getting stronger. It’s going to help my skating and my physical play out there,” he said. “So, that’s going to be the big thing for me to work on.

“I know it’s going to be a lot of hard work. The summer is a big part of that. I’ll have a tough summer here ahead of me.”