Nashville Predators: We have a love/hate relationship with the roster news

Vladislav Kamenev Sent Down – Really Hate

The Nashville Predators just weren’t impressed enough by Kamenev this preseason. He will be forced to join his familiar teammates down in Milwaukee to play with the Admirals this season. Kamenev is excluded from waivers, so it is likely he will be able to get some playing time at the NHL level this year. However, at this time the Predators don’t see enough to start him right away.

I thought Kamenev had a great preseason. His possession metrics were very positive. He played a clean game. He also showed that he can manage the faceoff dot, boasting the best faceoff percentage of all Nashville Predators centers this preseason. I think the thing that concerns the Predators at this point is just continuing to adjust to the speed of the game. They don’t want to rush him in and be blown by night in and night out. It is easy to get lost out there. Kamenev only appeared on the score sheet with two assists. For all of his playing time, the Predators were hoping for more production.

Still, I think Kamenev could easily handle himself on the fourth line with veterans Austin Watson and Miikka Salomaki. They would only have limited minutes anyway. If you let him play, he will adjust. Kamenev has the ability to succeed at this level and help add to the already dominant forward group.

As it stands, we will have to wait and see when Kamenev will get his chance. He should get double-digit games this season in the NHL if he keeps progressing at the rate he has since last year.