2023 BSH Community Draft Board, No. T-29: Bradly Nadeau

We’re clocking in for our final week of the Community Draft Board! Can you believe how far we’ve come!

If you’d believe it, we’re back again with another tie, and we’re kicking things off with Bradly Nadeau, a high-scoring winger from a familiar Penticon Vees club, of the BCHL.

Pre-Draft Rankings

No. 36 by Corey Pronman
No. 17 (North American Skaters) by NHL Central Scouting
No. 31 by Bob McKenzie
No. 35 by EliteProspects

Statistics

What’s there to like?

Immediately, the scoring numbers jump off the page. Indeed, Nadeau was the top scorer not just on his Penticton Vees team, but in the whole of the BCHL. And we’ll acknowledge, yes, that this league is a step below the major junior teams that we’ve seen a number of players on this board pulled from, so we do take that into account, but the scoring pace of over two points per game is still one worth noting.

And in many ways, reaching that pace shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given how dynamic his offensive toolkit is. His shot is both deceptive and multi-dimensional – he has a strong one-timer that can beat goalies from distance, a quick releasing wrist shot with good power, and his deftness with his catch-and-release shot means that he doesn’t need a lot of time to put a shot on net after receiving a pass. His game is, in short, a confident one, without much panic.

Nadaeu also brings a good bit of speed with his play. He’s a strong skater with good overall foot speed and a notable top gear, good edge work, which makes him a threat both in the offensive zone and in transition to beat defenders one on one and create chances. He also, overall, plays well with pace – he always seems to be buzzing around, and he’s able to pull off dangerous passes at speed, adding to his dangerousness as a playmaker.

Nadaeu may be taking something of the longer developmental route – playing in a lower tier in Canada before heading to the University of Maine in the fall – but for a more patient organization, this might not be a bad thing. For a player who is a bit more of a question mark, the longer approach might well be worth it.

What’s not to like?

As far as Nadeau’s game goes, there aren’t too many holes, when you’re looking at the particulars. One nitpick someone might find is his size – he’s currently listed around 5’10 and 161 pounds, so he is on the smaller side, and he’ll need to add a but more strength if he wants to keep up at the college level and beyond. That’s a relatively common note for players of this age though. A more concrete nitpick, if we’re looking for one, would be that Nadeau can be guilty of playing a bit too much on the perimeter at times, which is something he can get away with at the BCHL level, but is something that will have to be worked out of his game as he moves onward.

Looking more big picture, though, there’s always a bit of risk in drafting players in the first round out of these lower level leagues. Sometimes it can work out tremendously well in your favor, sometimes it doesn’t, and a lot will come down to the team’s confidence that the player’s skillset it legitimate, that there’s really something that can be developed here, and that the player isn’t only just good enough to clean up in a lower league, but then that’s about where they max out. For my money, Nadeau leans more into the former category, but someone else having some pause about him is understandable.

How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?

Though Nadeau is a natural center, he’s spent this season playing on the wing, and projects to stick on the wing as he develops and eventually moves on to the professional levels. And while the Flyers, at present, seem in greater need of centers, that shouldn’t mean that they’re turning their noses up at the idea of adding more skilled wingers into their prospect pipeline. Because, in short, Nadeau would be a good addition.

Nadeau’s scoring touch, if it translates well to the NHL level, would be a big boost to the Flyers’ forward depth on its own, but his playmaking ability is what would make him even more valuable. Because, as we’ve said a number of times throughout this series, they’re well stocked with pure shooters, and what they need now is more players that can feed them the puck, and do it cleanly, with some creativity, under pressure. Nadeau would check that box for them.

And, what’s more, selecting him would be the type of swing on a less certain but high ceiling type of player that the Flyers would do well to start taking.

Can the Flyers actually get him?

Nadeau is likely sitting in the player tier just below the one the Flyers should be looking to pull from when they make their 22nd overall pick, so we wouldn’t feel great about penciling him in as an option there. That said, the Flyers certainly are remaining active on the trade fronts heading up to the draft, and should they land themselves an even later first round pick (or even a very early second round pick), that’s when they could start looking at a player like Nadeau again.

What scouts are saying

The power that Nadeau creates off his shot is not only downright terrifying to witness in person, but also awe-inspiring from a mechanical point of view. He’s effectively stacked more nuance and deception to make it an even more dangerous threat. From his curl-and-drag attempts around sprawling defenders to his angle-changing release, Nadeau’s arms are always separated from his body leveraging the full force of his upper body leveraging down on the stick. -EliteProspects 2023 NHL Draft Guide

Nadeau has very good individual skill to couple with excellent speed. He’s quite dangerous in transition due to that combination. He can skate by and beat a lot defenders, but he’s also excellent at creating with space. He sees the ice at a high level, making a lot of seam passes and making tough passes on the move. On the power play he can make a lot of plays, but it’s his shot that’s a real weapon. He has an excellent one-timer that projects to beat NHL goalies from distance. His shot is both very quick, and fast, as he rifles pucks into the corners like a legit NHL scorer. – Corey Pronman, The Athletic

No more polls, folks! Friday’s helped us set the order for our final group of players, so it’s all coasting from here. Thanks for participating!

Previously on the 2023 Community Draft Board…

Farabee believes Flyers will be ‘better than people expect’

Philadelphia Flyers Top 25 Under 25, No. 24: Carson Bjarnason

Friday Morning Fly By: The countdown begins

Philadelphia Flyers Top 25 Under 25, No. 25: Alexis Gendron

Flyperbole: The 145th Annual Trent Klatt Invitational

Thursday Morning Fly By: Looking in the far future