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Carolina Hurricanes
rights acquired by trade on June 26, 2010
Originally drafted by:
Edmonton Oilers
2007 NHL Draft
1st Round • 21st Overall |
Junior Season - 2009-10
Nash further established himself as one of the top forwards in the nation, collecting 35 points in 30 games to cross the 100-point mark in just his third season at Cornell. Nash had nine multi-point games on the year, with six of those coming in the final six weeks of the season. Nash opened his season with back-to-back two-assist games, first tallying two in the season opener against Niagara on Oct. 30 and then again on Nov. 6 against Dartmouth. He scored his first goal of the season on Nov. 20 against Princeton. Nash scored at least one point in seven of his first eight games. Following the two-game series against North Dakota, Nash missed the next four games due to injury, but returned in a big way with two assists against Brown on Feb. 12. He scored at least one point in each of his next six games, scoring two goals and adding an assist on Feb. 16 against Colgate. Nash then tallied one goal and two assists on Feb. 20 against Dartmouth. After tallying a goal and an assist on Feb. 26 against Union, he was held without a point the following night against Rensselaer, but closed out the season with a point in each of his final five games, including five points in the ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series against Harvard. For his play, he was named third-team All-ECAC Hockey and honorable mention All-Ivy League after the season.
Sophomore Season - 2008-09
Nash continued his development as not only one of the elite players in ECAC Hockey but across the nation. He earned a spot on the ECAC Hockey First Team as well as earning honorable mention All-Ivy League after leading the Big Red with 35 points on the season. He finished the season ranked among the nation's leaders in points per game (T-50th, 0.97), goals per game (T-98th, 0.36) and assists per game (T-57th, 0.61). He led the Big Red with eight multi-point games as a sophomore, giving him 18 for his young career. Nash scored his first career four-point game with two goals and two assists against Union on Feb. 21. He had a career-best three assists in the decisive game three of the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals against Rensselaer on March 15. Nash had a pair of two-goal games on the year, first tallying a pair against Harvard on Nov. 21 and again on Feb. 21 against Union. He added his first career short-handed goal on Dec. 27 in the 3-2 win over St. Cloud State at the Florida College Classic. Nash was also invited to the selection camp for Team Canada for the World Junior Championships in mid-December, ultimately not making the final roster. Following the selection camp, Nash exploded for 29 points on 10 goals and 19 assists in the Big Red's final 26 games.
Career Highs
| Goals |
2 (four times) |
last vs. Union, 2/21/09 |
| Assists |
3 |
vs. Rensselaer, 3/15/09 |
| Points |
4 |
vs. Union, 2/21/09 |
| Shots |
8 |
vs. Dartmouth, 3/8/08 |
| Penalties |
2 (five times) |
last vs. Princeton, 3/20/09 |
| Penalty Minutes |
4 (five times) |
last vs. Princeton, 3/20/09 |
Freshman Season - 2007-08
Nash was named both the ECAC Hockey and Ivy League Rookie of the Year as a freshman in 2007-08 after finishing second on the team in scoring with 32 points on 12 goals and a team-best 20 assists. Nash became Cornell's first Ivy League Rookie of the Year since Denis Ladouceur in 1999 and was the first ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year since David McKee in 2004. After a brief three-game adjustment to the college game, Nash burst onto the scene with a four-point weekend against Yale and Brown, scoring two goals and two assists on the road trip to earn ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week honors. He had a pair of two-goal games on the year, both coming against St. Lawrence on Jan. 18 and again on Feb. 9. He had 10 multi-point games on the year to lead the Big Red and scored at least one point in seven of Cornell's final nine games of the season. His 32 points are the most by a Cornell freshman since Kyle Knopp tallied 33 points in his first season in 1995-96. Nash proved to be most dangerous on the power play, as 18 of his 32 points came with the man advantage, including seven power-play goals. Nash added a pair of game-winning goals on the season, the first against St. Lawrence on Jan. 18 and the second at Colgate on Feb. 2. Nash appeared in all 36 games for the Big Red as a freshman.
Before Cornell
Nash was the leading scorer for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks and was selected as the team's most valuable player. He scored 95 points in 66 games, tallying 42 goals while picking up 53 assists. In addition to being the team's MVP, he was also named the team's rookie of the year and earned Interior Conference Rookie of the Year honors for the BCHL. He was selected in the first round of the 2007 National Hockey League Entry Draft with the 21st overall pick by the Edmonton Oilers.
Personal
Riley Nash is the son of Greg and Shannon Nash. His brother, Brendon, was a four-year letterman at defenseman at Cornell. He is enrolled in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Nash's Career Highs
| Year |
GP |
Goals |
Assists |
Points |
PIM |
+/- |
PPG |
SHG |
GWG |
| 2007-08 |
36 |
12 |
20 |
32 |
28 |
+5 |
7 |
0 |
2 |
| 2008-09 |
36 |
13 |
22 |
35 |
34 |
+6 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
| 2009-10 |
30 |
12 |
23 |
35 |
39 |
+12 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
| Totals |
102 |
37 |
65 |
102 |
101 |
+23 |
14 |
1 |
5 |
