Could Bradly Nadeau make the Carolina Hurricanes’ roster at 19? There is recent precedent

In a way, there’s a lot of a younger Seth Jarvis in Bradly Nadeau.

Both are native Canadians who were first-round draft picks by the Carolina Hurricanes. Both are right-shot forwards. In terms of size, Nadeau at 19 is much like a 19-year-old Jarvis at 5-10 and 161 pounds.

Nadeau can only hope the comparisons don’t end there. He’s in the Canes’ preseason training camp seeking to do the same thing Jarvis did a few years back: make an impression, make it hard to keep him off the roster.

“Everyone is here to compete,” Nadeau said in an N&O interview. “Obviously, you see yourself there (NHL) and you want to be there from the start, but you have to trust the process.

“You take your time and do what’s needed. You do want to be there from the start, but it’s about how you fit into the group. And if it takes a little more time, it takes more time.”

Jarvis’ path to Canes similar

Jarvis once said many of the same things. Taken 13th overall in the 2020 NHL draft, he attended the Canes training camp before being sent back to his junior team, the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League, for the abbreviated 2020-21 season.

With the WHL postponing the start because of the pandemic, Jarvis was allowed to first join the Chicago Wolves, the Canes’ AHL affiliate. He made the most of it, scoring seven goals with four assists in nine games.

“It gave me a taste of pro hockey,” Jarvis said.

When the WHL began training camps in March, Jarvis was assigned to the Winterhawks. But that nine-game sojourn to Chicago opened some eyes, and Jarvis opened even more at the 2021 NHL Prospects Showcase in Tampa.

Jarvis said before leaving Raleigh with the Canes team that he wanted to be the best player in the event, and many observers agreed he was that when it ended.

Jarvis returned to Raleigh and in terms of hockey has not left. The Winnipeg native made the Hurricanes’ roster, made his NHL debut in October 2021 and has developed into one of the league’s most exciting young players — certainly one of the most engaging and quotable.

From Maine to the Hurricanes

After being drafted 30th last year, Nadeau put in a season at the University of Maine, playing on a line with his brother, Josh, and finishing with 46 points in 37 NCAA games. Signing a three-year entry-level contract with Carolina in April, he was able to make his NHL debut in Carolina’s last regular-season game, at Columbus.

Like Jarvis, he got his first real taste of pro hockey.

“That was amazing,” Nadeau said. ”Everyone kind of dreams about it, and I was able to do it last year. I got the first one out of the way.”

Nadeau said he spent a lot of the summer in Raleigh working out with Bill Burniston, the Canes’ strength and conditioning coach, and adding about seven pounds. -- “Pretty good for a smaller player like me,” he said, smiling.

He was with the Canes’ team that competed in the 2024 Prospects Showcase in Nashville, winning two of three games. He was able to show off his skill and high-quality shot, saying it was fast paced hockey and that he and the team “played pretty good.”

Nadeau’s ‘opportunity’ in Carolina

Nadeau hopes by the end of training camp, Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour, the staff and management will decide to keep him around and keep him with the big club.

There’s a chance one of the young forwards in camp can crack the lineup. During practices, Nadeau has played on a line with Felix Unger Sorum and Jackson Blake, and the three will be in the Canes’ lineup for the first preseason game Tuesday at Tampa Bay.

“We’ll see,” Brind’Amour said Friday. “There’s always opportunity. When you have the youngsters that we have and that we obviously think highly of, maybe you’re going to give them a little more of a look and see what could be. But they have to kick somebody out, so they have to be special.”

Jarvis has proven he has that special quality. The Hurricanes think so, recently signing him to an eight-year, $63.2 million contract extension.

Jarvis’ advice to Nadeau?

“Roddy kind of lays it out for you,” Jarvis said, “He gives you the road map and it’s up to you in how you use it. It all starts with just competing and battling. That’s the thing that at least got my foot in the door. It’s not being afraid to go against the older guys, the bigger guys and just showing I can hang and show my worth.

“My advice to him is to keep scoring goals, which I know he’s really good at, but doing the little things and details and all the things Roddy’s talking about. You’ve got to keep hanging around, taking it every day and enjoying it and making the most of it.”

Nadeau said he immensely enjoyed playing college hockey at Maine with his brother and that it would be tough to leave him.

“It’s going to be different but it’s also going to be fun,” Nadeau said. “You move on in your career and you experience some new things. I’m sure he’ll have a lot of fun even though I’m not there in Maine. I’m sure we’ll both be able to do great things without each other.

“Obviously, it’s a new chapter and we’ll see what it brings.”