Alexei Emelin
On of the big newcomers to the team is Alexei Emelin. He’s a physical veteran that brings stability to the third pair. Emelin’s facing the pressure of filling Ellis’ shoes for at least half the season. And that’s no easy task. I expect Emelin to play on the No.1 defensive pairing with Josi. A top-ten player in hits with 241 last season will be a welcomed addition. But it’s hard to say if the transition will go smoothly.
As nice as it is to have Emelin to plug-in, he’s not going to score goals like Ellis. That leaves another scoring void that the Predators have to replace. Especially on the power play. Emelin will play well enough to keep this defense respectable, but fans will definitely miss Ellis’ presence.
Perhaps GM David Poile saw this Ellis absence coming along as it played a factor into signing Emelin, per Cutler Klein of Penalty Box Radio:
#Preds Poile said they knew about the potential long recovery for Ellis and that factored into the trade for Alexei Emelin.
— Cutler Klein (@CutlerKlein) September 7, 2017
Mystery solved?
Expect Emelin to muster good possession scores as well as over 200 hits. His play style will allow Josi to take more risks and try new things while Emelin is there to cover him. He’s a stop-gap who will do anything that is asked of him. Expect his presence to also affect the penalty kill.