EDMUNDSTON, NB – Young Edmundston Blizzard sensation Joshua Nadeau committed to the University of Maine Black Bears hockey program in NCAA division 1.
Nadeau’s blazing start with the Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) caught the eye of many scouts across North America looking for talent to fill the ranks of their teams.
The pride of Saint-François-de-Madawaska, who turned 17 last October, dominates the MHL’s scoring column with 20 points (9g, 11a) in just 8 games. His points impact is such that he has participated in 53% of Blizzard’s goals.
Blizzard fans can take comfort in the fact that he will be playing throughout the current season in Edmundston as Joshua is enrolled in grade 12 at the Cité des jeunes A.-M.-Sormany High School in Edmundston. It is yet too early to know where Joshua will play next season before reporting to the Black Bears team in his development process.
“This is another feather in the cap of our great organization,” said Blizzard head coach Emery Olauson. “A few months after sending Christopher Collin to NCAA division 1 Bowling Green State University we have another player reaching his goal of playing the highest level of College hockey in the USA.”
“Josh is an exceptional player who we are fortunate to have as part of our team,” Olauson added. “Maine will ultimately help guide Josh and his family on their next couple seasons of development and where they feel it is best for them to prepare. Obviously, we hope we can continue to provide Josh with the development they expect and he needs. Myself and our coaching staff believe that Josh is paving a way that many of our players will follow. We look forward to more players achieving this level of success from our organization.”
The Maine Black Bears have a rich history. A total of 55 alumni from this university have played in the NHL. The best known are goaltenders Ben Bishop, Jimmy Howard and Garth Snow, forwards Paul Kariya (Hockey Hall of Fame), Gustav Nyquist, Scott Pellerin (from Shediac), Jim Montgomery and Dustin Penner, as well as defensemen Keith Carney, Brett Clark and Eric Weinrich.
After playing with the Northwest Bulls in the bantam AAA category (2017-18), Joshua Nadeau then wore the colors of the Fredericton Capitals in midget AAA. In those three years, he tallied 126 points (61g, 65a) in 94 games.
Last season, the Blizzard called him for 7 games where he had 2 goals and 4 assists despite limited ice time. Joshua was claimed by the Blizzard as a territorial pick in the June 2019 MHL Draft. A few days earlier, he was selected in the 5th round (73rd overall) by the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL.
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Photo
Joshua Nadeau (Photo Percy Picard)
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Source : Hugues Chiasson
Communications VP
Edmundston Blizzard
hugueschiasson@yahoo.ca