Nolan Allan is gearing up for the NHL Entry Draft this weekend. (Submitted photo/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Jeff D’Andrea

Rollin' Nolan

Raiders’ Nolan Allan credits his teammates and brothers for helping his career

Jul 21, 2021 | 3:58 PM

Whenever Nolan Allan has needed advice about how to handle himself during his NHL draft-eligible year, he’s had plenty of outlets to go to.

His captain Kaiden Guhle and Ozzy Wiesblatt were both drafted in the first round of last year’s NHL Entry Draft. Chad Allan, Nolan’s uncle, was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks back in 1994 in the third round. His older brother Blake Allan is a WHL veteran and has played in 148 games over the past three seasons.

Being able to talk to them throughout the season has come in handy, and could lead to a life-changing moment this weekend while Nolan awaits who will select him in the NHL Entry Draft on Friday and Saturday.

“All those supports have given me advice. Guhles and Ozzy, they went through it last year. They’re great guys to lean on and go to for support, and my family too,” Nolan said. “My brother’s older than me and he’s in the WHL too. My uncle Chad was drafted in the NHL back in his day. So he knows what it’s like, too. It’s great to have a big number of support systems around you to help you.”

Nolan grew up in Davidson and credits the fierce competition he had with Blake and younger brother Evhan out on the ice. If they weren’t playing on teams, they were playing against each other during free skates.

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“We were always at the rink. We had a lot of days there,” Nolan said. “We had a ton of competition between me and my brothers, and my cousin, he’s a year younger than me. We just liked to go to the rink and compete against each other. That’s kind of what helped us develop so much into hockey players too.”

Due to the pandemic, the Western Hockey League season was shortened to 24 games this past season. For draft-eligible players, that means less time to impress the NHL scouts.

But Nolan was able to make Team Canada and win a gold medal at the IIHF U18 World Championship, enabling him to play more hockey and get a lot more eyeballs on him in a time where games were hard to come by.

“It’s always an honour to play for your country, Team Canada, but that was huge,” Nolan said. “We only got to play about 16 games in the bubble. With that short season in the bubble, it was nice to get a tournament in and be able to showcase myself on different stages of the world.”

Nolan had a goal and an assist for Team Canada in seven games, and had the same points total in 16 games with the Raiders. He is ranked 40th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, and 59th overall by Bob McKenzie’s draft rankings for TSN.

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Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW