Raiders add alumnus Nadeau as assistant coach

The Napanee Raiders have hired Brandon Nadeau as an assistant coach prior to the 2020-2021 season, the Provincial Junior Hockey League club announced today.

Nadeau, 22, joins head coach Ben Hagerman and assistant coach Chris Brown, as a third alumnus behind the Raiders bench. The Inverary native skated for the Raiders between 2013 and 2015 and played with the Junior A Kingston Voyageurs for four seasons.

Following his playing career, Nadeau served as an assistant coach for the Voyageurs and the Gananoque Islanders respectively. Off the ice, Nadeau is completing teacher’s college at Queen’s Universityand he has a strong track record of volunteerism and youth leadership.

Hagerman said the Raiders will benefit greatly from adding Nadeau.

“The Napanee Raiders are a program built on character and that is why bringing Brandon into our program was a no-brainer,” he said. “Brandon will be counted on to work with all players in a variety of situations that involve special teams, practices, and off-ice communication and team building. Any time you can add another hockey mind into the fold, everyone gets even more of an opportunity to learn.”

Nadeau said his previous experience in Napanee and knowledge of the organization piqued his interest when he learned about the potential opportunity.

“It’s an honour to be joining the Raiders coaching staff and I am excited to be back in Napanee as a Raider again. They are a first-class organization that treats their players like professionals and runs like a Junior A club,” he said.

Even as uncertainty surrounds the 2020-2021 season in the face of COVID-19, the new assistant coach is eager to start his new role and help the organization prepare for a return to hockey.

“I’m hoping that through some of my connections in the hockey realm that I will be able to help Ben with recruiting and I’m looking forward to getting to know the guys on the team,” he said. “I hope to lead by example, assisting with players’ transitions to school and junior hockey and drawing on my experiences with the Voyageurs to help our players develop and get to the next level.”

While the Raiders await direction from Hockey Canada and its member partners about returning to the ice, the or- ganization is not releasing training camp dates at this time. Interested players are asked to contact Hagerman at 613-922-8763, general manager Adam Bramburger at 613-876-1734, or email napaneeraiders@gmail.com.