Scouting Notes : Olivier Nadeau Game Report - November 20th 2020
Channel: NHL Draft Central
Date: 06/02/2021

Here's my scouting notes on Shawinigan's attacker, 2021 NHL Draft eligible, Olivier Nadeau. What's YOUR opinion on the Canadian prospect ? I would love to hear it in the comments bellow !
2021 NHL Draft top prospects scouting reports : 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWqUavddiQZaUjyL4q9Z-HpeZDCpfNmyI

Summary : 
Nadeau is a two-way power forward who dominated the wall with exceptional upper body strength and flashed an outstanding combination of vision and touch coming out of corners. At 17 years old, the 6 foot 2 right winger is already one of the most physically mature attacker in the QMJHL, which helped him absolutely move around players along the boards tonight. His imposing physical presence could best be seen as he not only delivered crushing hits to some, but pretty much outmuscled anyone in puck battles. Winning a game-high 18 puck battles, Nadeau used a mix of great footwork, a strong and active stick and his staggering frame to work relentlessly through dirty areas. Despite the lack of quickness, he exhibited the uncanny ability to get involved in almost every board battle, anticipating rebounds and passes to arrive to position first. Not only did he win most of his battles, but the 205 lbs winger showed splendid puck protection, edge work and vision to come out of the corner looking to create a scoring chance. On the cycle offense and PP, Nadeau mostly worked around the crease to screen the goaltender, put-back rebounds, deviate shots, and recover loose pucks. The Canadian prospect is an improved skater from last season, but there’s still a ton of work to go before removing the red flag. The main concern goes with his quickness, as he showed heavy feet on his first steps and slow turns and cuts. This refrained him from being a play driver in transition, lacking explosion on the exit, and he was often a stride late on the puck pursuit. This weakness of his also forced him to work from behind in transitional defence, and he was rarely able to use his size to his full potential on close out. Nadeau was still a tremendous defender on the backcheck tonight, showing a strong stick and great timing, but his opponents will only get faster, and he’ll need to catch up. The left-winger is a defensively responsible attacker who can be counted on in any defensive situations. Not only did he play very well on the PK, anticipating and cutting passing lanes with an active stick, but he also made a few great reads at 5v5 too. He exhibited outstanding compete, putting effort in all areas of the ice. Nadeau miss-handled a few pucks in tonight’s game ; I will be looking to see if this is a trend throughout the season. Combining a strong frame to a great mind and vision, Nadeau could be one of the most intriguing power forward in the middle rounds of the upcoming draft. I have a feeling his skating will be the deciding factor to his success in the future.


Twitter : @AndyLehoux1

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Footage taken from InStats Hockey