The 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held July 7-8 at Bell Centre in Montreal. The first round will be July 7 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 are July 8 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at defenseman Ty Nelson with North Bay of the Ontario Hockey League. NHL.com’s full draft coverage can be found here.
Ty Nelson wants opposing forwards to be aware when he is on the ice.
“If there is a big open-ice hit that comes to me, I’m going to try and blow the guy up, I’m not going to lie,” Nelson said. “I do enjoy the big hit and then you get the boys all hyped up and it can change the momentum of the game.”
The 18-year-old with North Bay of the Ontario Hockey League isn’t big by NHL standards (5-foot-10, 199 pounds), but he always has embraced the physical side of the game.
“It’s more of a skill game now, 100 percent, but I like to bring that little ‘old game’ aspect into it and be physical,” Nelson said.
“When I get an early hit in the game, it really gets me going into the game a lot faster.”
When North Bay general manager Adam Dennis selected Nelson with the No. 1 pick in the 2020 OHL Priority Selection, a conversation with the father of North Bay captain Liam Arnsby confirmed he had made the right pick.
“He said there wasn’t a guy Liam disliked playing against more than Ty when he played up against him in minor midget, so that was one of the best compliments we had,” Dennis said.
“I think when you combine [his willingness to play physically] with his skating ability, it balances him off. I had to answer the question a lot because we took him first overall about his size and I kept saying, ‘Would you rather get hit by a door or a bowling ball?’ There have been some guys that have tried to go head-to-head with him and have come out on the wrong side of it.”
Nelson, No. 32 in NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters, excelled this season despite not playing last season after the OHL canceled its season due to the coronavirus pandemic. The right-hand shot led North Bay defensemen and all OHL rookie defensemen with 51 points (nine goals, 42 assists) in 66 games. He quarterbacked North Bay’s top player-play unit and also was matched most games against the oppositions’ top players at even strength.
“A lot of time in the gym, that’s for sure,” Nelson said about how he made the most of the cancelled season. “It [stunk] having my first year canceled, I didn’t get that development year like most of the other guys do. But there was nothing really we could have done about it, so I was just trying to take advantage of what I could. I just looked at it as an extended offseason and just kept staying in the gym every day, getting on the ice whenever I could and just trying to improve all around.”
Dennis said that Nelson put on 20 pounds of muscle during the pandemic.
“He just keeps smiling,” Dennis said. “He gets an extra workout in instead of sitting around and moping. He does something about it. I think that’s something that will be a really powerful trait for him moving forward. He’s such a positive influence, it’s infectious. It’s impossible not to have it rub off on you.”
Nelson also took on a leadership role on a team that had 14 first-year players, including 11 who played at least 20 games, tied for the third-most in the OHL.
“We have [14] first-year players so when Ty was going to grab his shoes for an extra workout, you see the hamster wheel turning on the [13] other guys and all of a sudden you see them follow to go grab their shoes and chase him up to the gym to make sure he doesn’t get an edge,” Dennis said. “It’s been a cool thing to watch. It’s not easy to be a leader in your first year.”
Nelson’s leadership and strong play helped North Bay reach the OHL Eastern Conference Final before losing to Hamilton. Nelson had 10 points, all assists, in 13 playoff games.
He said Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, Morgan Rielly of the Toronto Maple Leafs and especially Ryan Ellis of the Philadelphia Flyers are NHL players he looks at as role models for his game.
“They’re very offensive defensemen and I like to model my game after that,” Nelson said. “Ryan Ellis (5-10, 180) is kind of my sort of build, a shorter, stockier defenseman and he’s had a great career in the OHL and NHL. But I like to say I bring a little bit more of a physical aspect to the game than them as well.”
Most of all, Dennis said Nelson’s ability to learn quickly has been what has stood out to him.
“It’s understated that he was thrown into the fire this year,” Dennis said. “It’s been really impressive how quickly he’s been able to adapt, and in his first year he’s been a very impactful player.”
Photo: Braden Shuman, North Bay (OHL)
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