Nadeau, forward prospect, to join brother at Maine next season

The 2023 NHL Scouting Combine presented by adidas is taking place this week at KeyBank Center and HarborCenter in Buffalo. The combine will allow NHL teams an opportunity to conduct interviews and provide physical and medical assessments of the top prospects eligible for the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft. NHL.com will bring you all the sights and sounds.

BUFFALO -- Bradly Nadeau has racked up quite the frequent flier miles the past two seasons.

The native of St-Francois de Madawaska, New Brunswick, has played the past two seasons with Penticton of the British Columbia Hockey League.

But next season, the 18-year-old forward will be a bit closer to home, playing at the University of Maine, about a three-hour drive away.

His brother, Josh, 19, also will be with him at college.

"My dad was excited," Bradly said. "I'm pretty sure he won't miss any home games for sure."

Josh had made an official visit to Maine before the COVID-19 pandemic, and Bradly went with him.

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"After seeing the game there, it was just so electric and I just wanted to experience it one day," Bradly said.

Travel restrictions during the pandemic didn't allow Nadeau to visit other colleges, and when Josh committed to Maine, the decision to follow his brother became that much easier.

"Maine being the only [college] I kind of went on a visit to, actually seeing their campus and the rink and all the other stuff, that's kind of why I ended up [choosing] there," he said. "And I guess knowing my brother was also going there, that kind of influenced a little bit my decision."

Maine will be getting one of the most explosive scorers in junior hockey last season. Nadeau (5-foot-10, 161 pounds), No. 17 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters presented by BioSteel, led the BCHL with 68 assists and 113 points, and tied for the lead with 45 goals in 54 games. He won the league most valuable player award during the regular season and in the playoffs, after he helped Penticton to the league championship with 35 points (17 goals, 18 assists), tying Josh for the scoring lead.

And Nadeau did it as a right-handed shot playing left wing.

"It takes an interesting decision to play the off-wing because you put yourself at a disadvantage in your own zone, trying to get that path coming out of your own zone if you turn the wrong way," Central Scouting director David Gregory said. "You have to be smart, you have to have quick hands, which is all the things he does have. But when he gets into the attacking zone, all of a sudden, that disadvantage for him becomes an advantage because he sees all the ice in front of him."

There's an app for that

NHL Central Scouting created an app for the first time that the 106 prospects on hand for the combine can download to their mobile device. It contains all the information they need to navigate the gamut of interviews with NHL teams, and medical and fitness testing.

"In the past, you've got hundreds of young men running around trying to get to testing, to medicals, and there's always somebody that's not in the right place at the right time," Gregory said. "But with this app, we'll be able to contact players, we'll be able to know where they're going to go."

The reviews all have been five stars.

"They have everything on there, the events schedule and your personal schedule and everything like that, and the [NHL team interview] room numbers and stuff," Kelowna forward Andrew Cristall said. "So, it's been really nice, easy to use."

Wisconsin forward Charlie Stramel said, "It's good to see other than your personal schedule, you know, when's the gym open? When are the meal times? It's been pretty easy to open, easy to sign into. ... It's very convenient because you've always got your phone on you."

Bjarnason vs. Danielson

Carson Bjarnason and Nate Danielson have developed a close friendship during two seasons as teammates with Brandon of the Western Hockey League, and they've had some quality bonding time together as combine roommates.

Bjarnason is No. 1 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American goalies. Danielson, a center who led Brandon with 78 points (33 goals, 45 assists) in 68 games, is No. 7 in the final ranking of North American skaters.

"Every practice, we're competitors so we have little competitions with us, and if I'm getting him one day, I'll give it to him or if he's getting me he'll give it to me a bit," Danielson said. "It's all fun and at the end of the day, we just try to push each other to get better."

This week, they've pushed each other to keep their room neat. But when it comes to the TV remote, Bjarnason defers to Danielson, who is nine months older.

"He always likes seeing what's on YouTube after a meal and watching 'Good Good Golf' or something like that," Bjarnason said.

Having each other to lean on through the ups and downs of the draft season has been useful for each of them.

"Not everyone gets that and just having someone that's pretty relatable and understands what's going on, it's nice to be able to just bounce stuff off each other and get to talk to each other about those things," Danielson said.

Growing hockey in Florida

University of Michigan forward Gavin Brindley grew up in the unlikely hockey hotbed of Estero, Florida.

The city is home to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL, which is looking to repeat as Kelly Cup champion and is playing in the final for the fourth time in 11 seasons. His father, Ryan Brindley, played the final five seasons of his 10-season pro career as a defenseman with the Everglades.

Gavin is also about a two-hour drive west of FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, where Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights will be played Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, TBS, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS). And he's about the same distance south of Tampa, where he watched the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021, and reach the Final last season.

Having a Florida-based team in the Cup Final for the fourth straight season has continued to help grow the sport's popularity in the state.

"It's so cool," said Brindley, No. 23 on Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters. "I think for little kids that just watch hockey and want to be a hockey player, it's the coolest thing in the world. I know me growing up, seeing Sidney Crosby lift the Cup was like the best moment ever. And to see the Panthers and the Lightning and how good they've done these past couple of years is awesome and it's totally grown the game in Florida. I think that Florida has totally gone ... the stock has gone so far up and there's a lot of good kids coming out of there now so hopefully they could keep pumping them out."

Credit: Michigan Photography

Credit main photo: Jack Murray/Penticton

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