Nashville Predators: Tolvanen Adjusting Well To Life in the KHL
By Steve Cook
The Nashville Predators have a number of young prospects worth keeping an eye on. Eeli Tolvanen might be hard to follow, but he is shining brightly.
The most interesting aspect of NHL preseason games is seeing how the youngsters are developing. Nashville Predators’ young guns Juuse Saros, Alexandre Carrier, Miikka Salomaki & others have gotten the opportunity to make noise. Some are doing well and some are not. It’s preseason, so it’s tough to get too worked up either way.
Fortunately, the future of the Nashville Predators doesn’t just lie in preseason games. There are players far away from the scene that are doing just as much to impress Nashville Predators management. From the looks of things, the most impressive prospect this preseason is currently playing in Finland.
Eeli Tolvanen was the Predators’ first round pick in this summer’s Entry Draft. The eighteen year old from Finland was originally going to attend Boston College, but an issue with his high school course credits put the nix on that. Instead, he has reported to Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League.
Jokerit was a middle-level team in the KHL last season. Much like the Predators, they finished eighth in the Western Conference. But Unlike the Nashville Predators, they got swept out in the first round. The season is very young, but Jokerit looks like they’ve improved. A lot of that has to do with Eeli Tolvanen, who is leading Jokerit in points.
Tolvanen making waves
Tolvanen got off to a hot start. A hat trick in his first game where he only played nine minutes wasn’t too shabby. The next ten games on Jokerit’s schedule didn’t see too much of a drop off. Tolvanen sits at seven goals & five assists after eleven KHL games. His twelve points are the fourteenth-most among KHL players. Seven goals puts him in a tie for seventh-most in the KHL.
The men ahead of Tolvanan in goals scored are all quite a bit older than him. The youngest is SKA Saint Petersburg’s Nikita Gusev, who’s seven years older than Tolvanen at twenty-five. Make no mistake about it, Tolvanan is playing among full-grown men in this league.
Tolvanen’s success so far even has people speculating that he’ll be part of the Finland Olympic Team. With the NHL players out, this would be a great opportunity for Tolvanen to show off to a worldwide audience. It would also be a great opportunity for Predators fans to watch him.
A deeper look
A deeper look at the numbers shows some interesting things. Five of his goals were even-strength while two came on power plays. Two of his goals won games for Jokerit. He’s averaging 15:54 of ice time & has six hits to his credit. Eighteen year old out here hitting men! He takes the most shots per game among Jokerit players. His percentage of shots made is sixth, so he’s obviously not afraid to shoot.
Next: Salomaki Or Aberg On The Third Line
Tolvanen’s drop to Nashville’s spot in the draft came as a surprise to most experts. If he keeps developing like this, it’ll be an even bigger surprise five years down the road.