ORONO, Maine – Freshman forward
Bradly Nadeau of the University of Maine men's ice hockey team has signed a three-year entry-level deal with the National Hockey League's (NHL) Carolina Hurricanes, as announced on Sunday by the organization.
Nadeau was selected in the first round, 30th overall, by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2023 National Hockey League Draft.
Nadeau, who was a Hockey East Second Team All-Star and All-Rookie Team honoree this season, racked up a team-leading 46 points on 19 goals and 27 assists to go with four game-winning goals, three power-play goals and one short-handed goal. His 109 shots on goal ranked 11th in Hockey East while his plus-20 rating was ninth. The St-François-de-Madawaska, New Brunswick native had 11 multi-point games this season, including six multi-goal games and four multi-assist games.
"Our staff is excited for Bradly to continue to chase his dream of playing in the NHL," said Maine head coach
Ben Barr. "Carolina is fortunate to not only have a great player, but a great teammate and person joining their organization. Bradly's year in Orono was memorable and Black Bear Nation was fortunate to watch Bradly's development this past season. Bradly will always be a Black Bear!"
Nadeau's 46 points were the most by a Maine player since 2011-12 and marked the first time a Maine rookie eclipsed the 40-point mark since 2006-07. He was named the Hockey East Player of the Week once, Rookie of the Week twice and Rookie of the Month once each. He was part of a Black Bears' squad this season that made the program's first NCAA Tournament and Hockey East Championship weekend appearance since 2011-12.
Last summer, Nadeau became the first Black Bear to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft since Barrett Heisten was selected 20th overall in the 1999 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres.
Nadeau will receive $855,000 at the NHL level in 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26. He will receive $82,500 at the American Hockey League (AHL) level for all three seasons, and the deal will include a signing bonus of $285,000.
