Nadeau ‘coming to take someone’s spot’ with Hurricanes this season

MORRISVILLE, N.C. -- Bradly Nadeau is well aware that earning a spot on the opening night roster of the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes will be no small task.

The Hurricanes are returning all 13 forwards who played at least one playoff game during their championship run, but the opportunity for a new face to break through is available.

Seth Jarvis, who led the Hurricanes with 32 goals last season, underwent right shoulder surgery in late June to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff. He is projected to return between late October and December.

However, Nadeau isn’t interested in auditioning for a temporary role.

“Not particularly,” the 21-year-old said on Tuesday. “I look at it as I want to battle for a spot. I’m coming to take someone’s spot. I’m looking at it more that way and not a fill-in option for someone that’s missing.”

With that being said, Nadeau knows just how hard it will be to carve out a role in what is a very deep lineup.

Even without Jarvis, Carolina still returns a core of young forwards such as Andrei Svechnikov (age 26), Jackson Blake (23) and Logan Stankoven (23). Those players augment an offense led by veterans Sebastian Aho, Nikolaj Ehlers, Taylor Hall and Jordan Staal.

“No, it’s not ideal, but I think it makes you work even harder to know how hard it’s going to be,” Nadeau said. “When that time comes, I know it’s going to be sweet, so I just have to keep working hard and wait for that time to come.”

The Hurricanes selected Nadeau in the first round (No. 30) of the 2023 NHL Draft after he put up 113 points (45 goals, 68 assists) in 54 games for Penticton of the British Columbia Hockey League. His knack for goal-scoring followed him to University of Maine, where he had 46 points (19 goals, 27 assists) in 37 games in 2023-24 before beginning his pro career.

Nadeau continued to showcase his skills with the Chicago Wolves, scoring the third-most goals (59) in the American Hockey League over the past two seasons and totaling 114 points in 116 regular-season games.

Last season, he was called up by Carolina and appeared in 12 NHL games, scoring his first three career goals.

“Obviously, when you play with guys who can pass the puck really well, it’s a bit easier,” Nadeau said. “I think from juniors until now, I was fortunate to play with those guys who are able to find you in open spots. At that point, you just have to trick the goalie and score the goals.”

To make him better prepared for the challenge that the NHL will present, Chicago coach Spiros Anastas put Nadeau in positions to grow his overall game, including using the forward on the penalty kill.

“I think that forced him to be a little bit grittier,” Anastas said. “Everyone knows he’s a top-six level player, but he wants to be here and stay here. If that means he finds bottom-six minutes and fourth-line minutes, he wants to show that he can be versatile and be used up and down the lineup. I think we will see another step with that this year.

“He’s got an exceptional shot, which I think is NHL-ready. But the work that he puts in on a daily basis, he trains extra. He’s the kind of guy you have to peel off the ice. He trains with a group that has a high pedigree, guys like Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon and Brad Marchand. He brings it every day. He continually works on his craft.”

That work has already begun this week for Nadeau, who had an assist in a 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday as the Hurricanes wrapped up the 2026 Prospect Showcase at Lane Arena, Carolina’s practice rink. The round-robin tournament also featured prospects from the Nashville Predators.

Now, his focus is turned to training camp, which begins Thursday.

“It’s always good to get in a game right before camp,” Nadeau said. “Obviously those games are intense. Everyone is trying to prove what they can do.”