Nashville Predators: Should Vladislav Kamenev Play NHL Minutes?

Vladislav Kamenev is one of the best prospects the Nashville Predators have. But is he ready for full time minutes in the NHL?

Vladislav Kamenev scored twenty-one goals and fifty-one points in seventy games. Great numbers for any player, let alone a twenty-one year old sophomore. In his first season, Kamenev had shown flashes of brilliance but severely lacked the defensive prowess to play anywhere near the NHL, especially for the Nashville Predators.

It was also pretty clear that it took him longer than expected to adjust to North American ice. For those who don’t know, International ice is about 10 feet wider than NHL sheets of ice. But after two full seasons of training, Kamenev looks ready to make his mark on the Nashville Predators. But has he developed enough to be a full-time NHL center?

Lost in translation?

Kamenev is a big man at six feet- two inches, and he uses it really well. He grinds in the corners and uses that big frame to control the net-front area. His play in front of the net could create many opportunities for others. Especially for high quantity shooting defenders like Ryan Ellis or Roman Josi. Kamenev’s offensive style is fairly straightforward, most of the goals come from simple plays. This offensive style is probably the easiest to translate to the NHL because it doesn’t require sweet dangles or clap bombs. It just requires Kamenev to play his game and do the little things well.

What does Kamenev do well?

What immediately stands out is Kamenev’s ability to play along the boards. He’s so good at puck retrieval. He’ll be a monster in all the possession stats if he’s paired with other skilled forwards. His superb skating allows him to dump, chase, and control the puck extremely well.

For such a big body, his skating is extremely smooth and effortless, much like that of Jack Eichel. He attacks the offensive zone with such speed that it causes the defense to make mistakes. Kamenev possesses silky mitts and if you don’t believe me, just take a look at some of his highlights. His wrist shot is pretty powerful and he can put it where he wants it almost every time. Kamenev has all the skills necessary to make the NHL, but there are issues in his game.

Holding him back

One of the only issues with a straightforward game is that it sometimes saps creativity. Kamenev has great hands and the ability to dangle defenders at the drop of the hat, but he looks almost scared to. A little more confidence in his abilities could be the difference between the AHL and NHL. Kamenev’s defense has jumped leaps and bounds over the last two seasons in the AHL, but there still is always room for improvement. If he wants to get time in the top six, then he’ll need to be as defensively responsible as Calle Jarnkrok and Nick Bonino.

One last thing about Kamenev that could be an issue in the future is his temper. He sometimes can lose his cool and take some bad penalties. The last thing the Nashville Predators need is to take a penalty when they’re in the last four minutes and down by a goal. He’s only twenty-one, so he could still mature and control his hot-headedness.

NHL ready?

No, probably not full-time anyway. He should definitely get some games on the bottom six this year, hopefully ten or twenty. If he does somehow play more than twenty or more games on the third line, he should play as a winger. Centers in the NHL must be great at so many things, both on offense and defense. There can be a huge learning curve and throwing Kamenev to the wolves this early in his career could hurt his development.

I love Kamenev as a player, he’s big, fast, and sees he ice really well. But he’s not ready for the NHL yet. He should still get a few games so the organization can see how he’s developing. But a full season isn’t in his best interest. He will probably be ready by as early as the start of next season though.

Next: The Achilles Heel Of The Nashville Predators

Vladislav Kamenev will be an exciting player for the Nashville Predators moving forward, just not this season.

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