No one is becoming a quicker fan favorite for the Nashville Predators than Tanner Jeannot. In fact, you can argue he’s already arrived as one of the top fan favorites thanks to his physical style of play and ability to come up big in clutch moments.
The Predators finally got their first win of the season and avoided the dreaded 0-3 start, and Jeannot banged in the go-ahead goal for his first game-winner of his young NHL career.
Jeannot has charged into the 2021-22 season not missing a beat after bursting onto the scene last season. He’s avoided the “sophomore slump” at least through the first three games, and I don’t see a reason why he would suddenly fall backward.
Tanner Jeannot is quickly rising up Nashville Predators depth chart
The Predators desperately need more players like Jeannot to play with this intensity and aggressive style of hockey as everyone seems to understand that the raw talent on this team won’t be enough against most of your top NHL teams.
Even Ryan Johansen admitted after the loss to the Carolina Hurricanes that being the hardest-working team on the ice will be paramount for the Predators to find success, per the Nashville Predators official social media account:
Forward Ryan Johansen says he's looking forward to facing off against former teammate Viktor Arvidsson and the Kings tonight. pic.twitter.com/pMlhRV1Ruk
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) October 19, 2021
Jeannot fits into that style of play that Johansen was talking about perfectly. He doesn’t take plays off, treats every second on the ice like it’s a playoff game and he’s starting to contribute on the penalty kill effectively as well.
The Predators have now killed off their last six penalties over the last two games after giving up two power play goals in the season-opener to the Seattle Kraken.
“We want to be that team where no one wants to play us, no one wants to come in here and play us, and just be that hard-working, relentless team. We know we’re not going to be a fancy, super-skilled team or anything like that” -Ryan Johansen on this team’s identity
Jeannot got his first goal of the season last night in a gutsy 2-1 win over the Kings. A game that felt in doubt after falling behind 1-0, but players like Jeannot kept the intensity level high and didn’t go away from the gameplan despite adversity.
Adding to Jeannot’s stellar performance, he also tallied six shots on goal and dished out seven, yes you saw that right, seven hits.
The big hit that circulated all over social media was his trucking of Drew Doughty in open ice. A perfectly timed and legal hit, and one that Doughty will be thinking about whenever he steps on the ice again with Jeannot:
SHEEEESH pic.twitter.com/WPdnaOAuYA
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) October 20, 2021
As primarily a fourth line role player in his first 18 NHL games, Jeannot has still impressively filled up the box score. He’s got six goals in his first 18 games, which is incredibly efficient considering he’s only averaged 12:22 of ice time over those games.
Jeannot, and his normal linemates of Colton Sissons and Yakov Trenin, all got a bump up in the lineup last night against the Kings. They moved up to the third line and produced the game-winning goal off Jeannot’s stick, and assisted by Sissons.
When there’s been very few bright spots to find on this team over the past couple of seasons, Jeannot has quickly become a constant positive.
It’s going to be fun to see what kind of season totals Jeannot can produce in an 82-game season as his role keeps on growing for the Nashville Predators.