Maple Leafs select Nolan Vesey 158th overall

The Maple Leafs have selected left winger Nolan Vesey from the South Shore Kings of the USPHL with their 158th overall draft selection. It is the Leafs’ third consecutive pick of a player committed to playing American collegiate hockey next season.

The 6’1, 198-pound Massachusetts native, whose father Jim Vesey had a cup of coffee in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues, will play for Maine next season. Nolan’s brother Jimmy was drafted in the third round by the Nashville Predators two years ago (more on his hockey family here). A March ’95 birthdate, Vesey was passed over in last June’s draft.

“Also similar to his brother, Nolan has been a late comer. Jimmy was not one of these players who had his college commitment locked up at 14, and he was passed over in his first year of NHL draft eligibility. Nolan’s college interactions have accelerated now. In NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary rankings in November, Nolan was pegged as a potential late-round pick, but then was not included in the mid-term rankings.”
– New England Hockey Journal

Dream come true to be drafted by the @MapleLeafs .Thank you to everyone for the support along the way. #GoLeafs

— Nolan Vesey (@NVesey8) June 28, 2014

Dave Morrison on Nolan Vesey

“Nolan is going into Maine next year. He’s a bit of a late bloomer. I think it was a lot to do with maturity with this kid. I think the talent was always there, but I don’t think he was really a mature enough kid to know what he had to do. In the last year, he has really changed things around. I know the Maine guys are really excited to get him going, too. He’s another guy with a lot of offensive potential, got a real nice set of hands. I think there’s a little bit of grit there, too. Nolan certainly has an edge to him, and it’s never a bad thing when a kid has a little bit of edge. But he’s got the hands and he can actually produce offensively.”

Nolan Vesey Statistics