NHL Draft Profile: Defenseman Nolan Joyce

Nolan Joyce is a Boston College commit and a Dedham, MA native who is expected to make his debut for the Eagles next year, in the 2023-24 season. But first he is eligible for the 2022 NHL Draft!

Joyce is a defenseman coming out of playing in the US High School Prep league this past season and will spend 2022-23 with the West Kelowna Warriors of the BCHL for a year of development. This is very common for high-level hockey players to do between high school and college, and is part of the reason we continue to see 24, 25, and 26-year-olds on NCAA rosters (along with other reasons).

This past season at St. Sebastian’s School in Needham, MA, Joyce scored an impressive 38 points (14G, 24A) in 25 games. This team also featured mid-round draft prospect and Harvard commit RW Michael Callow and Princeton commit C Brendan Gorman, the only two players with more points last season than Joyce. The team went 18-5-1 to finish 6th in New England, ending their season with a quarterfinals loss to #2 Belmont Hill.

As for the NHL draft, Joyce is right on the cusp. NHL Central Scouting ranks him as the 214th North American skater overall in a draft that will select 224 players total in 7 rounds. Recruit Scouting pegs him at 201st. These rankings are fluid and not always accurate to what specific teams have on their own big boards, but they can give you a general idea of where players may be drafted. For Joyce, anywhere from a late 6th round selection to being undrafted would not be surprising.