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Rapids native Nelson makes splash in NHL

By Brian Kalish, Central WI Sports.net, 07/23/16, 9:15AM CDT

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Self-described 'late bloomer' doing well

By Brian Kalish

July 22, 2016

Wisconsin Rapids– Casey Nelson describes himself as a late bloomer.  In terms of his hockey career, which has seen him climb the ranks and muscle his way into the National Hockey League as a member of the Buffalo Sabres, Nelson personifies the expression “better late than never.”

Nelson stood at 5’10” tall when he graduated from Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids in 2010. After traveling from Rapids to Alaska to Pennsylvania in the North American Hockey League, and then landing in Mankato, Minnesota at the collegiate level, he shot up four inches and bulked up to 182 pounds, transforming from skilled– but perhaps undersized– defenseman into a player possessing both the stature and skill to play at the highest level.

“I was definitely a late bloomer,” said Nelson. “I had to kind of play catch up.  It’s always been that way. Even when I was a freshman in high school, I think that’s the biggest reason I didn’t play any varsity games.  It was just because I was too small.  In the NHL, they draft when you’re 18 years old.  So if you looked at me when I was 17, you sure as heck wouldn’t have wanted to draft me.”

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