Bobby Nardella

August 2023 – Nardella signed a one-year deal in the SHL with HV71. He had the most success in the league and if he is named the top defenseman again, it may lead to a better NHL opportunity for 2024-25. If not, he will likely remain a top offensive defenseman in Europe or Russia. Pat Quinn

June 2023 – Nardella helped the Bears in the regular season make the playoffs, but only played in one AHL playoff game due to injury. He was never given a shot at the NHL roster so it is likely he will head back overseas, where he had the most success, or a different NHL team where a path to the NHL is more clear. Pat Quinn

January 2023 – Nardella has not been given a recall by the Capitals and seems an afterthought in the teams plans. He has missed a couple games to injury but still leads the defense in points with 15 points in 28 games. The offense skill is there, but his size (5-9), weight (175lbs), and age (26) are all likely working against him to become an NHL player. Hopefully another NHL team (and coach) give him a shot for a few games, as he should impress enough to stay on the roster. If not, then expect him to continually be a top AHL defenseman or a star overseas. Pat Quinn

September 2022 – Nardella finished the 2021-22 campaign third on Hershey defensemen in points, second in points per game, and played 18 games less than both defensemen who outscored him. The good news for him on the Capitals roster is that he is on the one-way second year of his two-year contract. It may give him a leg up on the competition for the third pairing, but he is in competition with TVR and Erik Gustafsson, while Matt Irwin has the #7 defenseman spot locked in. Gustafsson should be beatable but he is also more of an NHL vet (and two to three inches taller) so that will give him a leg up in the eyes of Laviolette. Nardella has all the offense tools to make the NHL it is his size and possible rookie mistakes on defense that can hold him back in Washington. Pat Quinn

January 2022 – Nardella came back in November and stormed out of the gate with his play. His numbers do not reflect his overall play with 11 points in 20 games, which is still good but not up to his usual levels he has previously showed. Coming back from injury can result in a few walls being hit and around late December his play was not as electric. Hopefully, he can get a call up late in the season as his play since 2019 deserves one. Pat Quinn

October 2021 – After off season shoulder surgery Nardella still has not dressed for a game in the AHL. When he comes back he should be in charge of running the Bears’ powerplay and depending on his play, and the NHL player injured, he may see an NHL game or two later in the season. Pat Quinn

September 2021 – Nardella had shoulder surgery in the off season and hopes to be back in time to make the start of training camp. Pat Quinn

May 2021 – The Capitals let Nardella stay in the SHL and finish out the season instead of bringing him back to Hershey. All he did for Djurgårdens IF is lead the team in scoring to finish the season with 33 points in 47 games. He had five more points than the second leading scorer, and had seven more assists than the next highest player on the team. Nardella is a great offensive talent but his problem is that the Capitals have John Carlson signed for a long time, and Nardella is not the type of player who you put out there to keep a lead. Nardella has full boom/bust potential for fantasy owners, he could either become a 1PP quarterback or be seen as too much of a liability for NHL coaches keeping him overseas or in the AHL. Pat Quinn

January 2021 – The Capitals have elected to let Nardella stay in Sweden for the remainder of the SHL season for Djurgårdens IF, he currently leads the team in points.  Pat Quinn

March 2020 – Nardella was the Bears’ powerplay quarterback for a majority of the season, especially when Djoos was called up to the NHL and subsequently moved at the NHL deadline. Injured for the first month of the season Nardella came back in to the Bears’ line up and injected life in to the teams powerplay. Nardella posted 31 points in 41 games and only went without a point in three or more games once. It was very impressive for a first year player out of the NCAA. The only things going against Nardella are his reluctance to shoot and that he is a tiny defenseman. He can play in the ATL but he really needs to add more size to his frame in order to play in the corners in the NHL. Nardella is smart enough to evade hits but there are times when you cannot. A huge bonus for Nardella is that he thinks the game extremely well and can make crisp and easy outlet passes, find the open man in the offensive zone, and skate the puck out of trouble. He is one to watch but he is still behind Fehervary and Alexeyev, and he is signed until the 2020-2021 season ends. Pat Quinn