NEWS RELEASE | NELSON, KINGWELL SET SIGHTS ON BOGART CUP WITH LEAGUE-LEADING NAVAN GRADS

The Ottawa 67’s prospect pipeline has a blue and silver tinge to it these days, with both Jaeden Nelson and Shaan Kingwell doing impressive things with the CCHL’s Navan Grads, who have locked up the league’s top seed in dominant fashion.

Playing out of the tiny Navan Memorial Centre in front of no more than a couple hundred fans a night, both have fully bought into the program run by Head Coach and General Manager, Marty Abrams, who has a wealth of knowledge having worked for a handful of OHL teams, and other junior programs.

In turn, the accolades have come pouring in. For Kingwell, it’s leading the league’s rookie scoring race with 37 points, including 22 goals, and a spot on the All-Rookie Team, and for Nelson, it’s the league’s best win total, standing at 25, and winning both Rookie of the Year, and Top Prospect of the Year.

“It feels amazing,” Nelson said. “I was at TD Place on the ice with Andrew Mercer when I saw it on my phone, and it feels really good, it’s something  I’ve worked towards. The individual stuff comes when you have a good team, it’s a result of them helping me out in the net, and me doing whatever I can in every start that I get.”

Much like the OHL, it’s not easy for rookies to break into the CCHL and hit the ground running like both Nelson and Kingwell have. Abrams hasn’t been able to keep either out of the lineup, but they’ve earned that right, he says.

“The ceiling is so high for them, and we knew they were going to be better players come February than they were in September. I’d like to say we expected them to score 20 goals and be the top goaltender in the league, but we didn’t really project that, but we’re certainly happy it happened.”

Backstopping the Grads with a .921 save percentage, Nelson has played the bulk of Navan’s games this season, and seemingly every time he’s in the net, he gives his team a chance to win.

Thanks to both his impressive start to the season and injury troubles with the 67’s, the 63rd overall pick in 2023 signed a Scholarship and Development Agreement with the Barber Poles. The Ottawa native backed up in a handful of games, before making his OHL debut in Kingston on New Year’s Day, which was followed a month later by his first start in Sarnia.

Stopping 21 of 24 shots he faced in that contest, Nelson helped the Barber Poles get deep into the shootout, before eventually losing, but the experience was overwhelmingly positive, and served as proof that he was capable of playing at the OHL level.

“That helped a lot,” Nelson said. “I set myself up for the month. I wasn’t even thinking, harder shots and faster players didn’t really mean much. I felt comfortable in there, and I was able to take the detail that was needed to succeed in that game and bring that back to Navan.”

Back in Navan, they watched with bated breath. Of course, they were rooting for Nelson, but having spent all season with him, they were worried about losing him.

“There was a worry that if he got a win up there, he would stay up there,” said Tyler Cyr, the radio voice of the Grads. “The fact that it was a worry for our organization is a really good thing. He’s our backbone, it was a sigh of relief every time he came back.”

For anyone, being sent back down isn’t easy. You want to be playing at the highest level possible, but Nelson understands what this year is all about, and has taken it for the opportunity it is.

“Navan is my team this year, this is who I’m going to win with,” Nelson said. “It’s not my time in Ottawa yet, that will come eventually, but I’ve bought into this group and gotten close, understanding that this is where I’ll be for the whole year. It’s a place I’m happy with, and I love showing up to the rink every day.”

The success with Navan has led to an increased confidence for Nelson, which has come in a tremendously positive and helpful way.

“He’s got a quiet confidence about him,” Abrams said. “He’s a humble guy, and guys want to play for him, but he’s a confident young man, and he should be. He deserves everything he’s gotten this year, he’s worked really hard for it.”

Confidence is something Nelson shares with Kingwell. An 11th-round pick of the Barber Poles, the Ottawa product was a known commodity for the Grads, having spent 2022-23 with their now-disbanded U18 program. There, he scored 50 points in 42 games, and was relied on for offence.

This season, he says it has been an adjustment slotting into a secondary scoring role, which Abrams says he has done admirably.

“He has a tremendous skill set, and he’s really smart on the ice,” Abrams said. “Everyone thinks the world of him, and his hockey IQ has really impressed me.”

Still, the rookie forward has a critical outlook on his play this season, as he chases a spot on the 67’s next season.

“I think I had a pretty slow start, and I picked things up after getting put with [Gabriel] Crete and [Devon] Savignac,” Kingwell said. “I’ve been much more confident, and I think that’s why I’m producing.”

At five-foot-11 and 155 pounds, Kingwell is giving up a lot when it comes to size compared to some of the CCHL’s bigger bodies. Furthermore, the ice in Navan is much smaller than what you see at The Arena at TD Place, for example. Space is limited, but he hasn’t shied away from the challenge, and it hasn’t stopped him from producing.

“He’s a very tough kid,” Cyr assessed. “The boards suck here, getting hit hurts, but Kinger hasn’t missed any time. He gets pushed around, and he pushes right back, and you like to see that. One of his biggest strengths is invisibility. He doesn’t need to be the biggest guy on the ice because he’s hard to [track down]. You might get a piece of him, but he’s going to get past you.”

The Grads don’t yet know their first-round opponent, but what they do know is that both Nelson and Kingwell will be key players in their Bogart Cup playoff run.

“They’ll be massive,” Cyr said. “They are two guys you have to study. They are both excited for the challenge, but right now, their focus is today, game by game. It’s the attitude they need to continue to bring forward to this organization.”

They are all in, and all that matters now is bringing Navan their first championship.

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“We have a good team, and I think we can win it all, that’s what everyone is buying into doing,” Nelson explained. “Anything short of that would be a disappointment.”

“The team comes first, I want to win a championship and go to the Centennial Cup,” Kingwell added.