Nashville Predators: Predlines staff debates impact of younger players
Teams rely on their stars to produce consistent scoring opportunities. However, which Nashville Predators rotation play will have a major impact?
Two games into the 2018-19 season and the Nashville Predators have four early points. Victories over the City of New York showed promise of what is to come on the season. Star level players came through with big performances and leading the team to solid wins. It is the start we all hoped we would see.
The play of several Predators should be noted. Craig Smith is a man on fire, skating with great passion up and down the ice. His CorsiFor% sits at a respectable 55.77, and he sits atop the team with a ixGF/60 of 2.17. He was rewarded with his first goal of the season on Saturday against the Islanders. Viktor Arvidsson is second on the team at 1.06 in ixGF/60, even after his two-goal performance on Saturday. That is a testament to Smith’s work on the season so far.
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Kyle Turris is also performing well. He leads the team in Primary Points/60 at 4.17. And, the Predators have yet to let a goal in for their opponent while Turris is on the ice. Granted, it is just two games, but it seems as the second line of the Nashville Predators is performing extremely well.
We should expect this, though. Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, Arvidsson. Smith, Turris. These are best forwards on the team. Their regular contribution is what is required. What about the rest of the team? There are several quality role players who provide solid impacts, pushing the Predators to victory.
Which of the following players will have a greater impact on the Nashville Predators this season: Frederick Gaudreau, Ryan Hartman, Zac Rinaldo, or Eeli Tolvanen? Here are our answers in our weekly roundtable.
Strong Start for Rinaldo
With the hype of Eeli Tolvanen fading to start the year, and Gaudreau not getting consistent ice time, I think who will have a bigger impact will come down to either Ryan Hartman or Zac Rinaldo. I’m going with the latter. Sure it’s only been two games, but Rinaldo leads the team in on-ice CorsiFor %. And that’s only in 15 minutes of playing time.
So far he is taking advantage of his shifts. Only eight Nashville Predators have a High Danger Chance to their name, and one of them is Zac Rinaldo. His three shots on goal are the same as Ryan Johansen and more than Viktor Arvidsson. His eight hits are 6th in the league.
We all know he is an aggressive player, so I believe if he can keep his temper in check and keep pitching in like he has so far, he will have a strong impact for the Nashville Predators.
Worth the price?
Considering the price that Nashville paid to get him, it better be Ryan Hartman. The Predators acquired Hartman & a fifth-round pick from the Chicago Blackhawks back in February for Victor Ejdell, their first & fourth round picks. He got off to a good start with Nashville, putting up three goals & three assists within his first eleven games with the team. Unfortunately, Hartman played ten more regular season games & accounted for zero of the Predators’ goals or assists. He couldn’t even crack the positive side of the plus/minus stat in a game.
A torn labrum probably played a part in Hartman’s lack of production late in the season. He did get the game-winner in Game 2 of Nashville’s first-round series but missed a number of playoff games due to a suspension, ineffectiveness & bad penalties. (And maybe that shoulder issue, but good luck getting that information out of Nashville.) Ideally, Hartman is a guy you can plug-in anywhere in the lineup & get good solid play out of. He hasn’t shown much of note in the first two games, especially in Game 1 where he & his linemates Nick Bonino & Calle Jarnkrok, struggled to get anything going on either end of the ice. He was more active in the Islanders game, throwing three hits & blocking two pucks.
Freddy Gaudreau could make a big impact on either the Nashville Predators or Milwaukee Admirals’ season, and I wouldn’t be surprised with either outcome. Zac Rinaldo’s role is pretty clear at this point: he’s the new Cody McLeod. You’ll get physical play & silly mistakes. Eeli Tolvanen still needs some time to develop before living up to our hopes of him as a key part of the Predators offense. Barring injury, Ryan Hartman will see more ice time than any of these men. If he doesn’t make a bigger impact than they do, he’s had a bad season.
Do the hustle
In the 2018-2019 season, Ryan Hartman will have a greater impact on the Nashville Predators than Gaudreau, Tolvanen, or Rinaldo. Simply put, Ryan Hartman is a nuisance when he is on the ice. He skates hard everywhere, has a deceptively impressive shot, and infuriates opponents. While he has been known to take some careless penalties, like he did in the playoffs last year, he is more of a threat to others than he is a problem to Nashville. Hartman is similar to Viktor Arvidsson in the fact that he skates hard everywhere and gets under opponents’ skin. His hustle into the corners generates scoring chances, as shown by his 20 assists with Chicago and Nashville last season. He pesters other teams and draws penalties simply because of his hustle and passion when he’s on the ice.
Last season, he tallied 8 goals and 17 assists in 57 games with Chicago, and 5 goals and 4 assists in 30 games with Nashville, including playoffs. Hartman is no big scoring threat, and hardly a point of emphasis for other teams, yet he does make a positive impact. Alongside Colton Sissons and Nick Bonino, Hartman has a real chance to make an impact this season. That 3rd line is built off of scrappiness and hustle, things that Hartman excels in. On that line, Hartman has the chance to be a spark plug for the Predators this year, draw penalties, dig pucks out of the corners, and force errors from opponents. He isn’t the biggest threat out there, but his impact is one that is crucial to a team’s success.
Still hope for the rookie
When it comes to impacting the Nashville Predators this season, Eeli Tolvanen still tops my list. What we are seeing from Zac Rinaldo has impressed, to say the least. He leads the team in CorsiFor/60 and is third in CF% when adjusted for quality of competition. With all the fear and concern of him taking penalties, Rinaldo only has one call against him this season.
Ryan Hartman is going to leave a mark on this roster as well. His constant effort on defense creates chaos for opponents. Can he be the goal-scorer he was with the Blackhawks his first season? I do not know. But, he will play an important role.
For me, however, I am still in the camp of Eeli Tolvanen. While he has yet to make an impressive splash with the Predators, the hope and potential is still there. At 18-years-old, Tolvanen played 57 games between the NHL, KHL, and Olympics. He excelled everywhere but in the NHL so far. The size and speed of the game are unlike anything he witnessed before. But, he is young, hungry, and talented. Once he scores a few goals in Milwaukee, he will regain any lost confidence.
If you look at the current Predators lineup, you can see a constant philosophy. Coach Peter Laviolette pairs a goal scorer with a great center and a gritty, energetic forward. The top two lines show this idea for sure. Could you imagine a line of Nick Bonino, Hartman, and Tolvanen? It is not the JoFA line, but the potential for scoring significantly increases. The only concern is Tolvanen’s defense. Still, another line who can score is an impact most teams do not possess.
Centers of attention. dark. Next
Honestly, any of these players could impact the Predators team. But, it only takes one to make a huge difference.