OKLAHOMA CITY–Kaden Nelson, Daniel Duris, and Nathan Rickey are headed to Pittsburgh for the North American Hockey League’s Top Prospects Tournament.
The tournament, a mid-season showcase featuring scouts from all over the country in attendance, aims to give uncommitted veteran players exposure while playing on divisional teams. For 2024, each of the four divisions has its own team, along with two ‘selects’ teams. The three Warriors will all play on Team South.
Nelson, a 20-year-old forward from Grand Rapids, Minn., leads Oklahoma in goals (17) and points (34) this season. His 12 power play points and two shorthanded goals are also high marks for the club. Nelson, who won a Robertson Cup in 2023 as a fourth-liner, routinely plays top-line minutes for the Warriors and has blossomed in that increased role. Nelson is also remarkably consistent; he has played every game for the Warriros and earned at least a point in every series.
Duris, a 20-year-old goaltender from Martin, Slovakia, has been the backbone of the Warriors organization since he entered the NAHL in 2021. Duris has made over 80 appearances in net and holds every goaltending record the club has to offer. In 26 games this season, Duris has 13 wins and a 2.52 goals against average. He has played the fifth-most minutes of any goalie in the league this year. His most impressive feat came in the 2023 Robertson Cup Playoffs, where Duris went undefeated with a sparkling 1.27 GAA.
Rickey, a 20-year-old defenseman from New Lenox, Ill., is the only member of the trio who is a first-year Warrior. In his one and only season with Oklahoma, Rickey has shined as a two-way player with five goals and 20 points. Both statistics lead all Warriors defensemen. Four of Rickey’s five goals have come on the power play, a ‘quarterback’ position he has maintained all season. Like Nelson, Rickey has played in all 35 games, the only two Warriors to do so.
The 2024 Top Prospects Tournament will be held on Monday, February 5 and Tuesday, February 6 at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township, Pa. Team South plays two games: 6:30 p.m. CT on Monday vs. Team Central, then 11:45 a.m. CT on Tuesday vs. Team Selects Gold.
