Nashville Predators: Key Takeaways from Expanded Training Camp Roster

Training camp rosters are officially being announced by NHL teams, and the Nashville Predators just added a lot of potential reinforcements.

With training camp officially open for the Nashville Predators, the expanded roster has been announced. Most of the additions aren’t of too much surprise, but nonetheless it looks like the Predators are adding a lot of extra offensive punch to their team.

The Predators were an erratic team over the regular season, which is why they found themselves where they were in the standings. Right in the middle of the pack, but plenty good enough to make it into the 24-team field that’s about to compete for a Stanley Cup in a few weeks.

Here’s a quick look at the Nashville Predators expanded training camp roster, per Robby Stanley of the Predators official website:

Nothing too groundbreaking, but I do think a few of these additions have a realistic chance at getting into actual playoff games. There’s going to be plenty of healthy competition in training camp for a valuable starting spot.

Biggest notables on the roster

The player that easily catches my eye the most is Philip Tomasino, and I’m probably joined by many others with that stance. Many people thought it was a high possibility that he would get on the roster as he’s widely considered a top-20 prospect league-wide in the NHL.

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Tomasino may never actually see any game action in these playoffs, but just seeing him added to the roster speaks volumes to the raw talent and potential this guy has for the future.

Injuries seem likely as player return back to formal practices and heavy conditioning, so it’s still somewhat conceivable that Tomasino gets thrust into action and elevates up the depth chart.

There’s a segment out there that already thinks Tomasino should be in the starting lineup as he would definitely add more offensive skill and dynamic play than that of an Austin Watson, Colin Blackwell or Calle Jarnkrok.

Let’s pump the brakes and see how he looks in training camp in open competition for positions on the depth chart with NHL veterans.

Then you have the addition of Eeli Tolvanen, which is no surprise at all. The bigger surprise will be to see if he actually gets onto a power play unit in a game. That’s where he obviously brings the most value with his sniping ability from the slot with a man advantage.

The Predators have been awful on the power play for going on two full seasons now, and something definitely has to change against Arizona, who has a top-five penalty kill.

Other key additions

Alexandre Carrier joins Jeremy Davies, Ben Harpur and Steven Santini as additions to the expanded roster. Can one of these guys crack into the troubled third defensive pairing?

Carrier has to prove he’s ready for playoff hockey on the third pairing. He’s not going to be relied upon on the same level as he obviously is on the Milwaukee Admirals, and really the Predators just need him to avoid critical mistakes.

If Carrier doesn’t prove enough to the coaching staff to get into the starting lineup, then I’m afraid that we’ll see the combination of Dan Hamhuis, Korbinian Holzer or Jarred Tinordi.

I don’t see Yannick Weber getting into the starting lineup. But I will say that Holzer, in limited action, provided defensive grit to the lineup. However, he offers almost zero value offensively and would just be out there to provide “physical” play.

Others that are getting a shot on the training camp roster is Rem Pitlick, Yakov Trenin, Daniel Carr and Michael McCarron. I don’t expect any of these guys to actually get into a playoff game unless a rash of injuries occur, which unfortunately could happen.

The Predators have four goaltenders on the expanded roster, with Connor Ingram and Troy Grosenick being the additions. Don’t sleep on Ingram getting into a game as a backup if things go south quickly with either Juuse Saros or Pekka Rinne.

However, if Ingram is called upon it will likely mean the Predators are getting run out of the building by the Coyotes and on the brink of elimination.

Some key players who weren’t added to the training camp roster are Cole Schneider (2nd on Milwaukee in points with 46), defenseman Matt Donovan, Frederick Gaudreau and Frederic Allard.

At the very least, it’s great for these prospects to be getting extra action on the NHL level through a training camp period. It’s going to give coaches a chance to evaluate the prospect pool more closely, and maybe even find something in one of these players they didn’t realize they had.