BUFFALO – Through two games of the Prospects Challenge, winger Olivier Nadeau, the only player with an NHL contract the Sabres assigned to the ECHL last season, has emerged as perhaps their biggest surprise.
Nadeau, 21, has showcased an aggressive, heavy game, scoring a power-play goal in Friday’s opener and generating offense both nights. With the Sabres trailing by one goal late in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils, his dogged backchecking created a turnover in the offensive zone.
“Just working and, yeah, be physical, get on the puck in the O-zone,” Nadeau said following the game in LECOM Harborcenter. “I think that’s my bread and butter, just be in front of the net, and, yeah, it’s been two great games for me.”
The genesis of Nadeau’s strong outings can be traced to last season, when as a rookie, he morphed from an intriguing prospect – he scored 22 goals in 34 games during his final year in the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League – into an afterthought.
Early on with the Rochester Americans, he regularly sat out games as a healthy scratch. Then he suffered an injury during a rare appearance. After he recovered weeks later, the Sabres sent him from the AHL to the Jacksonville Icemen, their ECHL affiliate.
“Being sent to Jax, yeah, that was the tough part last year,” said Nadeau, who scored one goal in five games for the Amerks.
But the demotion forced the 6-foot-1, 197-pound Nadeau to change. He realized he needed to have a stronger commitment to compete against men.
Over 41 games with Jacksonville, he said he “learned how to play how pro hockey.”
“I had some tough moments last year, and I realized I needed to work more on my game on the ice, off the ice, and that was a big summer for me,” said Nadeau, who scored 12 goals and 24 points for the Icemen. “I wanted to arrive here and prove something, and that’s what I’m trying to do right now.”
He added: “My mindset, I think, is at the right place right now to be part of the (Amerks) this year.”
So far, Nadeau, a fourth-round pick in 2021, 97th overall, has impressed new Amerks coach Mike Leone, who’s running Buffalo’s bench during the rookie tournament.
“He’s doing a really good job,” Leone said. “He’s really good below the circles. He takes pucks to the net. He has really good habits, tracks back hard. I haven’t seen much of him other than on video, but he’s had a really good couple of games.
“He makes things happen when he’s on the ice. If you look at his shifts, a lot of times when he’s out there, the puck is in the offensive zone.”
Notes: Centers Jiri Kulich (power play) and Tyler Tullio scored for the Sabres, who pumped 35 shots on goal. Goalie Ryerson Leenders made 11 saves. … The Sabres finished the game with four defensemen after Jack Bodin and Norwin Panocha both suffered upper-body injuries. … Defenseman Nikita Novikov and forwards Tyson Kozak and Viktor Neuchev each served as alternate captains. … Winger Aleksandr Kisakov tried to score a lacrosse-style goal in the first period. “From when I played a while ago, the game has changed with the skills and what kids are doing and YouTube and Instagram, and if it works, go for it,” Leone said. … The Sabres close the tournament Monday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Olivier Nadeau, 2-1 pic.twitter.com/pTHt9dWQJ2
— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) September 14, 2024