By Russ Cohen
The Waterloo Blackhawks have a top goal scorer in the USHL. That’s Dylan Nolan, and he’s tied for fifth in the league with nine goals in his first 13 games. In a league where it’s hard to score 30 goals, he’s on pace for that if all goes well.
Nolan is 5-9 but plays bigger, and he has a lot of hockey sense. According to InStat, he’s averaging 16:33 TOI and plays on the power play and the penalty kill. He is averaging 4.3 shots per game. He’s winning face-offs at a high rate too – – 53% is solid.
“Last year with the team we didn’t expect to be where we were. We didn’t have the best outcome. But I think for me this year is to get better, get stronger, and faster,” said Nolan.
Summer training can pay huge dividends to some players, and that seems to be the case with Nolan.
“This summer, I really got a confidence booster, and I told myself that I can make plays,” Nolan stated. “ So I’m not afraid to make plays at all.”
Nolan, 19, has a great wrist shot, and that’s been on display this season. I noticed he likes to pick high glove side.
“Yeah, I played it pretty good,” said Nolan, talking about a recent game. “He had most of the blocker side covered, so I tried going glove side. He made a good save.”
When I asked Nolan what his shootout move was, he responded with, “A quick shot or I’ll go fake forehand and then fake backhand and go back to forehand.”
Dylan’s father is Owen Nolan who was a heck of a player for the Quebec Nordiques and San Jose Sharks mostly. I was curious what he had learned from his dad regarding shooting and if he watched some YouTube videos of his highlights.
“A couple moves here and there., Sometimes yeah.
He is committed to Colorado College, and I would think he will be a mid-to-late round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. His goals for this season are simple.
“Play good every game, hustle, compete. I know that’s a big thing for our teams to compete. Culture’s a big one for our team, you know, stick together and gel as a team,” Nolan answered.
As it turns out, Colorado College scouted him regularly.
“They would come to the games. They were really interested. It was a good spot.”
Nolan has impressed early on. Let’s see how this season goes for him.
Zaac Charbonneau is tied with Nolan for goals. Listen to an interview I did with him earlier this season.
https://on.soundcloud.com/vFjCOtMRrgVTJ9SCoM
