NEXT-LEVEL NADEAU

December 04, 2024

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OH, CANADA

Bradly Nadeau hasn’t only captured the attention of Wolves fans during the early going of the 2024-25 American Hockey League season, the rookie forward has also caught the eye of his national team.

On Monday, the 19-year-old from Saint-François-de-Madawaska, New Brunswick, was one of 32 players invited to Canada’s National Junior Team Selection Camp to determine Team Canada’s roster for the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship.

“It’s a dream come true just to get the chance to go out there and hopefully fight for a spot on the roster,” Nadeau said. “From when I started playing hockey, I always wanted to do that and now that it’s right there it’s amazing.”

While hoping to lead the Wolves to a sixth league championship is one thing, Nadeau realizes playing and taking home gold for his home country in the World Junior is something magical.

“It’s one of the biggest stages in the world,” Nadeau said. “The players who get to do that I’ve heard remember that for the rest of their lives. It’s one of their best memories so it would be a huge honor to be able to do that.”

Canada’s selection camp will be held Dec. 10-13 in Ottawa, Ontario, and the 2025 World Junior Championship will take place Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Ottawa.

Team Canada officials were no doubt impressed with Nadeau’s strong start with the Wolves. Through 17 games, Nadeau is tied for the Wolves lead with five goals and ranks third with nine points with an impressive 16.1 shooting percentage. The invitation to the camp came on the heels of Nadeau notching a goal and an assist during Sunday’s game against the Rockford IceHogs at Allstate Arena.

“I’ve had chances and I could have more goals but it doesn’t always go your way,” Nadeau said. “I just have to stick with it and capitalize on every chance I get. When you see some go in like this it helps.”

Not coincidentally, Nadeau’s goal on Sunday came on a rocket of a one-timer—something he works on diligently in practice.

“I watch some players in the NHL do it—guys like Steven Stamkos (of the Nashville Predators),” Nadeau said. “It’s a really big weapon for them so I try to work on it and hopefully get to their level.”

MAN IN RED

A welcome sight at Tuesday’s practice was Brendan Lemieux taking the ice—albeit wearing a red no-contact sweater.

The forward hasn’t played since suffering a leg injury against the Moose on Nov. 21 in Manitoba—a span of seven games.

“I’ve dealt with similar injuries a couple of times and this is nothing serious,” Lemieux said. “I’m just being cautious. I’m just focusing on staying up to speed. Everything is good. I’ll be back soon.”

The Wolves have not only missed Lemieux’s offensive skills, but also the physical presence he displays. Despite missing time, the 28-year-old leads the Wolves with 30 penalty minutes.

“It’s part of why I played in the NHL for as long as I did,” Lemieux, a veteran of 307 NHL contests with the Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes, said of playing physical. “I’m just working on my game every day to keep growing it.”

 

IMPACT PLAY OF THE WEEK

With the clock winding down in the first period of Saturday night’s game against the Grand Rapids Griffins at Allstate Arena, rookie defenseman Scott Morrow scored this gem to give the Wolves a lead they never relinquished in a 5-2 win over the top team in the Central Division.

 

C.D.E. COLLISION CENTERS’ COLLISION OF THE WEEK

Veteran defenseman Riley Stillman crunched the IceHogs’ Frank Nazar during the third period of the Wolves’ 5-3 triumph Friday night in Rockford.

 

SAVE OF THE WEEK

Goaltender Dustin Tokarski flashed his glove to rob the Rockford IceHogs’ Zach Sanford from in close to preserve the Wolves’ win on Friday night.

 

Weekly rewind (2-1-0-0)

FRIDAY, NOV. 29

Wolves 5, IceHogs 3: Austin Wagner scored the game-winner late in the third period, Tyson Jost had two goals and Skyler Brind’Amour and Noel Gunler also tallied to propel the Wolves to their third victory in their last four games. Chicago, which scored four times in the third, improved to 3-0 against Rockford this season.

SATURDAY, NOV. 30

Wolves 5, Griffins 2: Scott Morrow scored his first-career hat trick and added an assist, Justin Robidas and Austin Wagner scored and goaltender Dustin Tokarski made 11 saves to lead the Wolves to their second victory in a row and fourth in their last five games. Felix Unger Sorum chipped in with two assists as the Wolves snapped the Griffins’ two-game winning streak and evened the season series at 1-1-0-0.

SUNDAY, DEC. 1

IceHogs 6, Wolves 3: Bradly Nadeau had a goal and an assist and Gleb Trikozov and Juha Jaaska also scored but the Wolves couldn’t overcome a hat trick by the IceHogs’ Gerry Mayhew and settled for four of a possible six points over the weekend.

First Star of the Week

Where we stand

7-9-1-0, fifth in the Central Division.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE