Riley Nash Interview

by Jonathan Willis on Aug 27, 2009 8:46 AM MDT in Prospects

Oilers prospect Riley Nash (ranked #3 by Copper & Blue) has confirmed that he'll be attending Cornell for another season. He said this in an interview with Dan Sweeney of the Ithaca Journal, and explained some of his reasoning. Highlights after the jump.

Nash told Sweeney that he'd added ten pounds over the summer, which is welcome news for the Oilers. Kevin Prendergast has commented previously that Nash simply wasn't ready for the physicality of the professional game because of his lanky frame, and it's something he seems to have taken to heart. So much so in fact that we hear the first positive words about Cornell's schedule from him:

"I think the big part was the time I could spend in the weight room putting on weight and not having to play 80 games and losing my 10 pounds over the course of the year. I think coming back here and being able to do that and having all the facilities and skating on the ice every day and working on different aspects of the game, I thought that was bigger in my development than playing that many games at the pro level."

It's an interesting take and one that is rare from a hockey player, but then everything we know about Nash suggests that he's not a typical hockey player. The choice of Cornell was suggestive, and the quotes we've heard, both from Nash himself and from scouts following him suggest both intelligence and an unusual level of independent thought.

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Comments

Independent George

I like the kid’s attitude. Stay the course Riley.

Contributor to The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.

by Derek Zona on Aug 27, 2009 9:09 AM MDT reply actions

Prospects, we got lotsa Prospects

Some interesting undrafted names at the Oiler’s rookie camp:

Dmitri Kostromitin, Defenseman
6-2, 187 lb, 1990-01-22, Chelyabinsk, Russia
"Another good defensive defenseman who has got the size, though less of an offensive upside. He was unfortunately ignored by Nemchinov prior to the last WJC, but this does not at all mean that all the players there were better than him."

R.J. Anderson, Defenseman
6-0, 180 lb, 1986-07-16, Maplewood, Minnesota
Drafted 4th round (101st overall), 2004 Philadelphia
"RJ provides so much offense with his great vision and tremendous puck skills. He is one of the defensemen that college people and pro scouts like because he moves the puck well and can jump into the rush. He’s a guy who will be able to quarterback a power play since he uses his teammates well and shoots the puck plenty heavy."

Dalibor Bortnak, Center
6-3, 187 lb, Feb 17 1991, Presov, Slovakia
"He was the only real player who stood out for me in the game," Bowman said. "He was a big body who always seemed to be in on the mix and making plays. His persistence and presence on the puck really made him stand out in my mind."

by Mr DeBakey on Aug 27, 2009 10:07 AM MDT reply actions

Shhh… I’ve got posts coming on those guys ;)

A posse ad esse.

Writer for The Copper & Blue and OilersNation.

by Jonathan Willis on Aug 27, 2009 10:48 AM MDT up reply actions

Slovaks

Ooooooooooooooooo, Slovaks.

Lubo needs a friend!

Contributor to The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.

by Derek Zona on Aug 27, 2009 10:56 AM MDT up reply actions

Oilers Rookie Camp

Part One Up Here

A posse ad esse.

Writer for The Copper & Blue and OilersNation.

by Jonathan Willis on Aug 27, 2009 11:04 AM MDT reply actions

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