University of Maine freshman left winger Bradly Nadeau’s decision to sign with the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday was surprising.
After he was drafted in the first round by the Hurricanes last summer (30th overall), the Carolina brass made it sound like they wanted him to spend at least two years at the University of Maine working on his game and getting stronger so he could handle the physical rigors of pro hockey including the puck battles.
He is just 18 years old and is 5-foot-10, 170 pounds. He could have used one more year at UMaine.
But he certainly improved his stock with the season he had with the Black Bears, leading the team in scoring with 46 points on 19 goals and 27 assists. He was chosen to the All-Hockey East second team and Rookie team and he was an All-New England selection.
His 46 points were the most scored by a UMaine player since the 2011-12 season and the first time a UMaine rookie broke the 40-point mark since 2006-07.
There are a lot of components that go into a decision like this beginning with the parent team’s wishes.
Nadeau may have been thinking about leaving but if the Hurricanes told him they thought it was in his and their best interest for him to return to UMaine for another year, he would have been back in Orono.
That obviously wasn’t the case.
Nadeau didn’t return phone calls or text messages but told The Hockey News during a media session in Raleigh, N.C., that the Hurricanes “reached out once (the season) was over and that’s kind of how it went after my year in Maine.”
He said it was a “little bit” hard leaving behind his older brother Josh, the team’s second-leading scorer (18 goals, 27 assists) and an All-Hockey East third teamer as a freshman.
“But, at the end of the day, you want what’s best for one another. It was my dream to be here and he wanted what was best for me. You have to move on.” said Bradly Nadeau.
Nadeau said his year at UMaine was valuable.
He and his brother helped lead the Black Bears to a 23-12-2 record and their first berth in the Hockey East semifinals and the NCAA Tournament since the 2011-12 season.
Nadeau said through the summer workouts and training during the season that he was able to get stronger and adapt to a more physical style of play than he faced in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League.
“It really benefited me,”said Nadeau.
Nadeau signed a three-year,…
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