Nashville Predators: Future Stars bring comfort, confidence to Predators
By Michael Wade
The Nashville Predators young prospects took the ice at Bridgestone Arena, getting their chance to impress. A few stood out from the rest.
This past Friday, a smattering of Nashville Predators fans briefly glimpsed the future talent of the team. To cap off a hectic week of development camp, drafted players from the past few years competed against one another in a white vs. gold, 4-on-4 scrimmage at Bridgestone Arena. The scoring was high and the atmosphere casual, but a few players stood out above the rest.
The First Period
David Farrance, the Nashville Predators’ 92nd pick in the 2017 entry draft, kicked off the scoring for Team Gold. To the fans’ delight, the goal horn blared and Tim McGraw sang a familiar tune. Then, confusion swept the stands as people realized they couldn’t yell “you suck” at any goaltender for a whole game.
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Grant Mismash, who has an excellent name, responded with a solo-effort goal for Team White. The defense for both teams appeared slow and disorganized, and the attackers were often left wide open in the slot. More goals were scored, including another by David Farrance, before the first period concluded with Team Gold ahead 5-2.
The First Shootout
In between the two 25-minute periods, the teams competed in a brief shootout. The skaters, for the most part, looked nervous. Muscle memory appeared to dictate their first movements of collecting the puck and skating it towards the net. Then, their youth was revealed as most shot straight into the goalie’s legs or missed the net entirely.
The goaltending wasn’t excellent, but there were some praiseworthy moments. For the most part, each net-minder was able to position himself well and successfully defend the five-hole, where a huge number in the NHL prefer to shoot on a breakaway. Reaction times will hopefully continue to improve as each player develops.
The Second Period
I wish I had kept an eye on David Poile during the intermission. I have a hunch that he wandered down from his hawk’s nest in the stands to the locker rooms for a brief chat. Something like, “Hey guys, it’s the end of a long week. Loosen up, have some fun, and show us what you really got.”
In other words, the second period was immensely more inspiring than the first. Team White, especially, seemed to double their speed and physicality. Players completed checks, made sharper passes, and generally looked like better skaters. Two players that excelled in the period were Alexandre Carrier (Team White) and Anthony Richard (Team Gold), who each scored in impressive fashion.
Carrier has played with the Nashville Predators before. The twenty year old defenseman recorded two games with the Predators in the 2016-2017 season. In his AHL season, he played in 72 games with the Milwaukee Admirals, recording 39 points (6G, 33A). Those numbers suggest he is ready to contribute more at the NHL level, although the Nashville blue line is certainly a tough one to break into.
Anthony Richard, also twenty years old, is a left-handed center. In 2016-2017, he recorded 13 points (4G, 12A) with the Admirals and 2 points (1G, 1A) with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. While he definitely needs another year or two to reach a consistent NHL level, he is a potential future aid to the Predators biggest weakness – lack of skilled depth at center.
The 3-on-3 Overtime and Shootout
Well, we answered the age-old question. Even when every single player on the ice is wearing a Predators jersey, they still can’t score in overtime.
The second shootout was quite similar to the first. Skaters with AHL experience appeared more confident, faster, and more focused than those without. The goaltenders all performed well for the first several shots, until the levee broke slightly. Somebody pulled off a vintage Peter Forsberg, which every subsequent player then attempted. Most of them fell short, but I appreciate the ability to recognize a potentially successful strategy.
Conclusions
All in all, the Future Stars put on a good show. Hockey was played, beer was sold, Paul said “de nada.” The Nashville Predators definitely have some quick-skating goalscorers in the works. Honorable mentions go out to Rem Pitlick and Nathan Sucese, who for one glorious shift looked like Wayne Gretzky. First rounder Eeli Tolvanen appeared comfortable and confident when handling the puck. Joonas Lyytinen will likely be a solid NHL defenseman after some time spent in Milwaukee.
After the game, David Poile spoke highly of the players:
"“I like all of them, I thought they all played really well. I really felt today’s game and the class of players we had out there had to be the most skillful and the fastest that we’ve ever had.”"
Next: Predators active as free agency opens
The Nashville Predators appear to be in good shape for the future.