Bobby Nardella

Robert Virgil Nardella III[1] (born April 22, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

Bobby Nardella
Born (1996-04-22) April 22, 1996
Rosemont, Illinois, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 174 lb (79 kg; 12 st 6 lb)
Position Defense
SHL team
Former teams		 HV71
Hershey Bears
Djurgårdens IF
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2018–present

Playing career

Minor career

Growing up, Nardella attended Rosemont Elementary School and East Leyden High School before graduating from East High School (Sioux City, Iowa).[2] After his freshman year of high school, Nardella decided to drop baseball, basketball and golf to focus on hockey.[3]

Nardella played for the Chicago Mission Midget Minor during the 2011–12 season.[4] He began the following season with the team but was unable to compete in the 2013 USA Hockey National Championships after suffering a knee injury in October.[5]

USHL

Nardella was drafted eighth overall in the 2012 USHL Futures Draft by the Sioux City Musketeers.[6] During his rookie season with the Musketeers, he recorded 13 points in 52 games.[1] After impressing scouts during the season, Nardella committed to play collegiate hockey with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish after the 2014-15 season.[7] He was subsequently traded to the Tri-City Storm where he had a breakout season, recording 10 goals and 32 assists to rank third amongst defenseman.[8] As a result, he was selected for the 2014-15 All-USHL Second Team.[9]

Collegiate

In his rookie season at Notre Dame, Nardella broke-out onto the collegiate scene tying fifth most points scored overall on the team and was ranked 13th for points-per-game nationally.[2] As a result, he was named the teams Rookie of the Year following the conclusion of the season.[10] He was selected to participate in the Columbus Blue Jackets Development Camp that summer.[11]

In his sophomore season, Nardella helped the Irish participate in the 2017 Frozen Four.[3] At the end of the season, Nardella was invited to participate in the Pittsburgh Penguins Development Camp.[12]

During the 2017–18 academic year, Nardella helped the Irish participate in the 2018 National Championship, only to lose to Minnesota–Duluth. After his junior season, Nardella was invited to the Vegas Golden Knights Development Camp.[13]

In his senior year with the Irish, Nardella became the 54th player in program history to record 100 points as he reached a new career high. He finished his last year with the team ranking seventh in scoring among defensemen with 23 goals and 77 assists.[14] Due to his successful season, he was selected for the All-Big Ten First Team[15] and earned Second Team (West) CCM/AHCA All-America honors.[16]

Professional

On April 5, 2019, Nardella signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League.[17] A few days later, he signed an amateur tryout agreement with the Capitals American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hershey Bears.[18] He competed with the Capitals during their 2019 Pre-season games.[19] He recorded his first career AHL goal on December 15, 2019, against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.[20]

After completing his first full season in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, with the following 2020–21 set to be delayed due to the ongoing pandemic, Nardella in order to resume playing was sent on a season long loan by the Capitals to Swedish top tier club, Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), on September 30, 2020.[21] Nardella enjoyed a successful debut European season with Djurgårdens IF, posting 7 goals and leading the club with 26 assists and 33 points through 47 regular season games. Helping the team qualify for the playoffs, he added 1 assist in 3 games. On April 15, 2021, Nardella was re-assigned by the Capitals to rejoin AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears for the remainder of the season.

Following two further seasons with the Bears and helping the club capture the Calder Cup in the 2022–23 campaign, Nardella left as a free agent in the off-season and returned to Sweden and the SHL, signing a one-year contract with HV71 on July 31, 2023.[22]

International play

Nardella has represented the United States internationally. He represented his home country in the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament[23] and at the 2014 World Junior A Challenge.[24]

Personal life

Nardella comes from a hockey involved family. His father, Bob Nardella, is a retired ice hockey player and assistant coach with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League. His great uncle Mike worked for the Chicago Blackhawks organization[3] and his second cousin Frank played NCAA hockey for Dartmouth College.[25] His younger brother Nicholas played in the North American Hockey League.[26] Meanwhile, his mother Alicia is the head administrative assistant for the Rosemont Public Safety Department.[2]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2013–14 Sioux City Musketeers USHL 52 1 12 13 14 6 1 1 2 0
2014–15 Tri-City Storm USHL 56 10 32 42 31 7 2 7 9 4
2015–16 University of Notre Dame B1G 35 4 20 24 18 — — — — —
2016–17 University of Notre Dame B1G 34 7 14 21 26 — — — — —
2017–18 University of Notre Dame B1G 40 5 19 24 14 — — — — —
2018–19 University of Notre Dame B1G 38 8 26 34 20 — — — — —
2018–19 Hershey Bears AHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2019–20 Hershey Bears AHL 41 4 27 31 18 — — — — —
2020–21 Djurgårdens IF SHL 47 7 26 33 28 3 0 1 1 2
2021–22 Hershey Bears AHL 44 6 17 23 18 3 0 2 2 0
2022–23 Hershey Bears AHL 61 7 21 28 38 1 0 0 0 0
SHL totals 47 7 26 33 28 3 0 1 1 2

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2013 United States IH18 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 0 1 1 4
Junior totals 5 0 1 1 4

Awards and honors
Award Year Ref
USHL
All-USHL Second Team 2015 [9]
College
Hockey East All-Rookie Team 2016
Notre Dame Rookie of the Year 2016 [10]
Big Ten's First Star of the Week 2018 [27]
All-Big Ten First Team 2019 [15]
Second Team (West) CCM/AHCA All-America 2019 [16]
AHL
Calder Cup 2023 [28]

References
  1. "BOBBY NARDELLA". und.com. 2018-07-10. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  2. "Go, Bobby, Go!". journal-topics.com. April 5, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  3. Haugh, David (April 5, 2017). "Notre Dame's Frozen Four appearance thrills Nardella family". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  4. "Two high picks for Musketeers in Futures Draft". Sioux City Journal. May 1, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  5. Scifo, Dan (April 5, 2013). "MIDWEST RIVALS CHICAGO MISSION, HONEYBAKED EYE 16U TITLE". nationals.usahockey.com. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  6. Berger, Jordan (May 1, 2012). "Musketeers Select Five Players in 2012 USHL Futures Draft". ccphockey.com. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  7. "IRISH HOCKEY ADDS FIVE DURING EARLY-SIGNING PERIOD". und.com. December 6, 2013. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  8. "Storm End 2014-15 with Much to be Thankful For". oursportscentral.com. May 12, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  9. "League Names 2014-15 All-USHL Teams". ushl.com. May 28, 2015. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  10. @NDHockey (April 17, 2016). "Freshman defenseman Bobby Nardella is named the team's Rookie of the Year!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. "Roster & schedule for 2016 Blue Jackets Development Camp". nhl.com. June 22, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  12. "PITTSBURGH PENGUINS 2017 DEVELOPMENT CAMP ROSTER (as of 06.26.17)" (PDF). wbspenguins.com. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  13. "VGK Announce 2018 Development Camp Roster and Updated Schedule of Events". nhl.com. June 24, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  14. "LED BY NARDELLA AND MORRIS, IRISH EARN FIVE BIG TEN HONORS". und.com. March 19, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  15. "All-Big Ten Teams, individual award winners announced for '18-19 season". uscho.com. March 19, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  16. "NARDELLA EARNS ALL-AMERICA HONORS". und.com. April 12, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  17. "Capitals Sign Bobby Nardella". NHL.com. April 5, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  18. "BEARS SIGN NARDELLA TO TRYOUT AGREEMENT". hersheybears.com. April 8, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  19. Vogel, Mike (September 16, 2019). "SKATE SHAVINGS - News and Notes from Caps' Morning Skate 09/16". nhl.com. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  20. @TheHersheyBears (December 15, 2019). "Bobby Nardella first pro goal appreciation tweet #HBH" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. "American defenseman on loan from Washington" (in Swedish). Djurgårdens IF. September 30, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  22. "Bobby Nardella strengthens the blueline for HV71" (in Swedish). HV71. July 31, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  23. Kimelman, Adam (August 2, 2013). "Turgeon to help U.S. effort at Hlinka tournament". NHL.com. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  24. "NARDELLA SELECTED FOR WORLD JUNIOR A CHALLENGE Junior Hockey News". juniorhockey.com. November 12, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  25. "Frank Nardella". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  26. "Nicholas Nardella". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  27. "BOBBY NARDELLA NAMED BIG TEN'S FIRST STAR OF THE WEEK". und.com. October 23, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  28. "Sweeter by the dozen: Hershey wins 12th Calder Cup". American Hockey League. June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
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