Habs Top 25 Under 25: Brendon Nash
The following article featuring former Cornell standout Brendon Nash appeared August 11 on the Habs Eyes on the Prize Web site.
By Bruce Peter
A year ago, our panel was pretty unfamiliar with the talents of Brendon Nash. The Montreal Canadiens signed the free agent Cornell graduate to a two year contract that garnered little fanfare last spring. Nash didn't join the Bulldogs for their march to the Conference Finals, and while he had participated in a Canadiens prospect camp the previous year, not much had been made of that appearance. He was expected to fill in as a 3rd pairing defenseman on the Bulldogs to start with, and there was some hopes that his modest offensive ability combined with his size could see him help fill the void left by P.K. Subban at that level. However, no one really had him in their sights for anything but AHL purposes.
Of course, we're not scouts, either. Our access to Nash beforehand was very limited, as all of our panelists live north of the 49th parallel/Great Lakes and without having him in the Canadiens system for the previous 3-4 years like other NCAA prospects, we only had his basic stats to really judge him by. Starting in the NHL preseason, Nash began to make some noise, scoring a goal and an assist in an exhibition against the Minnesota Wild, and while he didn't come close to making the team out of training camp, he set himself up for a large role on Hamilton right from the start. The end result was a strong AHL rookie season, including a brief NHL call-up, and at the end of it all, the highest ranked player on this year's list who didn't make anyone's top 25 a year ago. Yes, it's safe to say that Brendon Nash has made a name for himself amongst the Canadiens fanbase this past season.
Strengths: Nash has a large frame and is a relatively strong skater for a 6'3" defenseman. His skating ability is often noted, but it should be put into context: he's no P.K. Subban or pre-injury Andrei Markov, but he skates at an acceptable pace for a professional. He's an effective passer and puck distributor, and was Cornell's top scoring defensemen during his tenure there as a result. His offensive production has now held to be above average to excellent from the BCHL to the NCAA to the AHL (the same career path as former Habs player Ryan O`Byrne). For those looking at intangibles, he's a graduate of Cornell (anyone know what his major was?) who comes from a hockey mad family, the brother of Riley Nash, a former Oilers first round draft pick.
Complete article can be accessed via the Habs Eyes on the Prize Web site by clicking here.
