The Carolina Hurricanes first-rounder has been amazing for Maine, plus OHL Mississauga's blueline threat eligible for the NHL draft, Russian goaltenders and more.
The NCAA's Hockey East conference unveiled its All-Rookie Team the other day, and it is stacked, to say the least.
Boston University's Mack Celebrini, the sure-fire first overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft, is there, as is Boston College's NTDP line of Will Smith (SJ), Ryan Leonard (WSH) and Gabe Perreault (NYR). Jacob Fowler (MTL), already one of the best goaltenders in college, is also there for Boston College.
The other name? Maine freshman Bradly Nadeau, the Carolina Hurricanes first-rounder who has helped the Black Bears to a top-10 national ranking.
"He's a shooter," said coach Ben Barr. "When he gets a chance, he can score from a lot of places that most players can't. He sees the ice well and he plays hard. He's a tenacious kid. He's going to get stronger and that's why he's here - he's still young and he can probably put on 10 to 15 pounds to get him ready for the next level."
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Tied with older brother and linemate Josh for the Maine scoring lead, Nadeau is a top-20 scorer in the nation with 41 points through 34 games. He and Josh both played in the BCHL for the Penticton Vees before college, where they also lit up the field.
"It obviously makes life easier," Nadeau said. "Going into college can be hard, but having your teammates and a brother here makes it easier. The past few years, on and off the ice we do a lot together."
The Hurricanes famously did not have to surrender any of their top prospects in the Jake Guentzel trade with Pittsburgh, and when you see what Nadeau has done as a freshman for Maine, you understand why.
The Sauga Continues
I popped down the highway to Mississauga last week to check out the OHL's Steelheads in what turned out to be a decisive win over Brantford, and one of my main viewing targets was 2024 draft prospect Jakub Fibigr, a defenseman from Czechia. Fibigr leads all OHL rookie defensemen in scoring with 37 points through 57 games, and coach-GM James Richmond knows he has a key asset in the kid.
"He's been great for us," Richmond said. "He transitions the puck and defends through the bluelines as well as any young guy I've seen come into the league. His skating is elite and his hockey IQ is elite. He's very smart so he knows how to control the game with speeds: The quarterbacks are the defensemen. The forwards can fly up the ice all they want, but if the puck isn't transitioning it doesn't mean anything. He's a very good manager of the game. He speeds it up, he slows it down, he goes east and west - he's a very smart player."
It's shaping up to be a great draft for Sauga. Luke Misa is a top scorer in the league, Ryerson Leenders will likely be one of the first goalies picked and Fibigr has a lot of fans in the scouting community. But another name to keep an eye on is forward Jack Van Volsen, a big-bodied energy forward who brings value at both left wing and center.
"When he plays the wing he has really good exit rates," Richmond said. "In the middle, he was really good on faceoffs and he's solid through the middle of the ice."
Van Volsen's offensive numbers of late have been good and Sauga needed him to step up with Porter Martone, one of the top 2025 NHL draft prospects, out of the lineup.
Russian to the Crease
I have an inside joke with scouts and my fellow prospect writers that every year, you have to pick a Russian goaltender to champion in the draft. Last year, my guy was Ruslan Khazheyev, who ended up going to Carolina in the fifth round.
This season, I'm throwing my lot behind Kirill Zarubin with Mikhailov Academy. Zarubin is a 6-foot-4 butterfly goalie who posted great stats on a so-so team in the MHL, Russia's top junior league. He's not listed by NHL Central Scouting, but hey - you never know.
Feelin' Minnesota
The Minnesota high school season is finished, with Edina beating Chanhassen in the big-school state tournament and St. Cloud Cathedral topping Hermantown in the small-school bracket.
Year-end awards were also handed out, and all three major winners are 2024 draft-eligible: Minnetonka's Hagen Burrows won Mr. Hockey as the state's top senior (past winners include Casey Mittelstadt and Ryan McDonagh), Skippers teammate John Stout took the Reed Larson Award as top senior defenseman, while Chanhassen's Kam Hendrickson won the Frank Brimsek Award as top goalie. Hendrickson and the Storm knocked Minnetonka out in the regionals before the state tournament. I don't know if Hendrickson has the size to get drafted, but he is intriguing.
Burrows, the top prospect among the group (teammate Javon Moore is another name to know), is playing in the USHL with Sioux City, where he also began the year while waiting for the high school season to begin. Burrows has been basically a point-per-gamer with the Musketeers, which is quite impressive for the USHL.