Jaeden Nelson keeps backing up the message on the back of his mask.
The 19-year-old from Nepean was named the OHL’s goaltender of the week for the second straight week on Tuesday after turning in a 1.59 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage. That run helped Ottawa bank five of a possible six points on a three-game road trip.
He was at the center of it all. After Ottawa dropped a 2-1 overtime decision in Niagara, Nelson answered with a 36-save shutout in a 3-0 win over Erie on Saturday. Less than 24 hours later, he stopped 41 shots and a pair of shootout attempts in a 4-3 win in Brampton.
The numbers have made him the standout starter in the league, and maybe more than that. Nelson’s season line - 5-1-2 with a 2.28 GAA and a .925 save percentage - points to the kind of form that has him sitting near the top of the country-wide conversation, too.
Asked about the phrase on his mask, Nelson traced it back to Ryan Holiday’s Discipline is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control, a book he read two summers ago.
“It comes from a book I read two summers ago,” Nelson said of Ryan Holiday’s Discipline is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control, when asked about the words on the back of his mask. “Be best to me just kind of stuck out.
It’s the name of one of the chapters, and it’s just something that reminds me every day to put my best foot forward, no matter how I feel. Every day I’m not going to be the most energetic, or there are other things going on outside hockey that might make it easy to kind of just throw the towel in that day.
But I showed up, I’m here, and I might as well try and put my best foot forward and get a little bit better that day.”
In Other News...
Senators Rough Night At Home Just Raised A Bigger Concern
A three-game winning streak disappeared in a hurry at home Tuesday night, and the Senators never found much of a foothold in a 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues. Ottawas offense was limited to goals from Claude Giroux and Fabian Zetterlund, part of a night in which the club generated only 17 shots and spent too much time chasing the game.
The bigger concern, though, was at the other end, where Samuel Ersson made his first home start for Ottawa and was quickly overwhelmed. The backup goaltender gave up seven goals on 26 shots, leaving the Senators with an unsettling result that went well beyond a single bad outing and into the kind of performance that can start asking harder questions about the overall direction of the team. [Read more 🡒]
Ottawa Letting Leevi Merilainen Go Looks Tougher By The Week
Leevi Merilainen keeps giving Vancouver a reason to lean on him, and the latest example came in a game against the New York Islanders. With Thatcher Demko sidelined, the young goaltender stepped into a bigger role and helped keep the Canucks competitive even after they gave up two quick goals late in the first period.
Merilainen finished with 35 saves as Vancouver clawed back to tie it in the second period before the Islanders pulled away in the third. For Ottawa, which let Merilainen get away, the early returns keep making that decision look harder to justify each time he gets a meaningful chance to play. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Blue Line Still Has A Problem As Injuries Keep Lingering
In a stretch where injuries keep reshaping lineups across the Atlantic Division, the Senators are watching their own health picture closely after Ridly Greig exited a recent game with a strain. Ottawa has not offered a firm update on his status, which adds another layer of uncertainty at a time when the club is already tracking absences elsewhere around the division, including Buffalo being without Rasmus Dahlin, Tyson Kozak and Alex Lyon for its next game against Toronto.
For Ottawa, Greigs availability matters because he has been a regular part of the mix this season, taking on meaningful minutes and contributing in a supporting role. The concern now is less about one game than about whether the Senators will be able to keep their forward group intact as Philadelphia continues to deal with blue-line injuries and the ripple effects of these lineup holes keep growing. [Read more 🡒]