Two months ago, David Poile and the Nashville Predators selected 18 year old Finnish winger, Eeli Tolvanen. Since then, Eeli has made fantastic progress.
Back on June 23rd, the Nashville Predators nabbed a speedy and highly skilled Finnish winger named Eeli Tolvanen with the 30th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. When the highly touted winger slipped down to #30, David Poile couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Tolvanen was ranked as the 8th best North American skater by NHL Central Scouting prior to the draft in June. He is a small winger, at only 5 foot 10 inches, 180 pounds. However, he has great breakaway and burst speed, combined with a precision shot and deadly release time. Tolvanen has soft hands and great puck control as well.
Tolvanen spent the previous two years in the USHL with the Sioux City Musketeers where he tallied 92 points in 101 games. Tolvanen’s offensive balance is shown in these stats, as 47 of those points were goals, and 45 were assists. After being denied admission to Boston College for the fall of 2017, Tolvanen signed with Jokerit, out of the KHL, where he just began play a few days ago.
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And boy oh boy is Tolvanen impressing already. In his first game in the KHL on Wednesday, Tolvanen recorded a hat trick, and one assist in Jokerit’s 6-1 win. On top of that, it was the youngest hat trick in KHL history. And to make it even more impressive, it came in a span of about 9 minutes in the 3rd period. Wow.
Not a bad first showing from the 18-year-old Fin. Scouting reports suggest that Tolvanen is adding muscle, along with speed, and even more shot velocity this season. The KHL is the perfect place for Tolvanen to sharpen his skills, before coming to Smashville to throw on the Predator gold. The KHL gives Tolvanen more competition than the AHL, and also allows him to play during the NHL offseason.
Win-win for Tolvanen, win-win for the Predators.
When Will We See Eeli?
With a farm system in the top half of the NHL, the Predators have a host of young talent waiting to get the call to Nashville. As we know, Tolvanen is over in Russia sharpening his skills, and getting NHL ready. It often takes young prospects like Tolvanen 2-3 years to reach the NHL, but Tolvanen is a different kind of player, who has shown NHL-caliber talent very early on.
This might be bold, but I think we could see Tolvanen in Predator gold by the beginning of next season, if the chips fall in his favor.
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The ice was laid in Bridgestone Arena today. 47 days until the boys in gold return to Smashville.