Nadeau had himself a quiet performance by his own standards but still managed to make a positive impact due to his offensive instincts and defensive acumen. He had a few strong moments in the offensive zone by timing hiss activation appropriately and jumping into space at opportune times in order to make himself a passing option down low and generate chances for himself in scoring areas. As per usual he was quite effective at defending the rush, maintain a tight gap that helped force dump-ins at the defensive blueline or seal puck-carriers along the end boards if they carried it in. He also made a few well-timed stick checks while defending in transition that lead to quick counterattacks and chances off the rush for his team.

While Nadeau didn’t show the same offensive capabilities as some of the other defensemen at this camp, I thought he was able to make up for it with some really strong rush and n-zone defending habits. He was using impressive footwork in the defensive zone to stick with opposing attackers along the perimeter in his own zone, rarely overcommitting to one side or the other to allow spin-offs into space and using his stick to poke pucks loose and regain possession to initiate a breakout. He kept his head on a swivel while defending the front of the net as well, allowing him to be cognizant of his surroundings and get sticks into passing lanes to disrupt any dangerous cross-ice attempts. I thought he was one of the better defenders at stepping up at the defensive blueline to deny entries, either forcing dump-ins or removing player from puck with his stick or his body.

It was yet another solid performance from Nadeau on both ends of the ice. He kicked off the game by making a smart activation off the rush, jumping into space and catching a hard pass in stride before getting a shot off from the top of the circle. He had some impressive moments with the puck on his stick at the top of the offensive zone, utilizing deceptive head fakes along with his lateral mobility to shake pressure at the line then get himself to the middle of the ice. He was able to consistently escape pressure while heading back for pucks, utilizing his edges to pivot into space and connecting on long passes up the ice that lead to some chances off the rush for his teammates.

I thought Nadeau was the most effective defender for Québec in this game, executing simple yet efficient plays in his own zone to get pucks out while also flashing some flair from the offensive blueline. Consistently throughout the game I thought he did a good job of winning battles below the goal line to gain possession and help facilitate breakouts while also dodging forecheckers on DZ retrievals to work his way into space and move the puck up ice. He made a few strong defensive plays off the rush as well, stepping up on puck-carriers at the blueline to thwart zone entries and initiate counterattacks the other way. He had an impressive sequence late in the game in the offensive zone when he utilized a fake shot to freeze an opponent up high and worked his way around him and got a shot off from down low in the zone. He scored his team’s second goal of the game on the powerplay by wiring a shot from the top of the circle over the goaltender’s glove.

Nadeau’s value came from just how effective he was in his defensive details throughout the entirety of this contest. He kept his head on a swivel while defending in his own zone, which allowed him to keep tabs on opposing forwards in the slot and use his stick to break up some cross-ice pass attempts toward dangerous areas. I thought he was also getting pucks up the ice quickly on both retrievals and regroups, scanning prior to his touches so he could assess his options and make a smart play. He made a great play in the 3v3 overtime period when he made a sliding stop on a two on one situation that lead to his team scoring on the counterattack.