Vees grad and BCHL MVP Bradly Nadeau taken 30th overall in NHL Entry Draft

Bradly Nadeau, the dazzling 18-year-old centre and recent graduate of the Penticton Vees who with brother and standout linemate Josh tore apart the BCHL scoring chase this past year then won both the regular season MVP and playoff MVP trophies while helping his team cruise to its second consecutive championship, has now taken his first notable post-Vees step.

And man, it was a doozy.

Nadeau, a centre with a wicked shot, fast skates and strong hockey smarts, was the first pick of the Carolina Hurricanes Wednesday evening in the 2023 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

That made him 30th overall, a rather heady position for someone who wasn't really on the charts just a year ago.

Nadeau is currently committed to the NCAA's University of Maine, as is brother Josh, but wants to go pro.

Size, if anything, would appear to be his Achilles heel as far as a future NHL career goes. At 5" 10" and 161 lbs., he's not particularly big by pro hockey standards. But he is aware of it, and he wants to do whatever he can to turn the tables in his favour.

"The biggest thing for me now is to get stronger physically," he told PentictonNow when he and the team returned home to the SOEC with yet another Fred Page Cup just a few weeks ago. "Faster skating, more explosive, stronger on the puck."

In the Hurricanes, Nadeau joins one of the league's strongest squads. And in Nadeau, the Hurricanes get a guy on the rise. And someone who can find the net. Nadeau more than doubled his 2021-22 regular season point total -- an amazing jump from 46 to 113 -- in his 2022-23 breakthrough year.

And we at PentictonNow will miss him. On the ice he's a terror, and off it he's unassuming and courteous. Just what you want in a hockey player.