Nashville Predators: Tanner Jeannot is Hanging Around in Rookie Race

Tanner Jeannot hasn’t taken the glamorous route to being an NHL rookie for the Nashville Predators. Rookies in the NHL comes in many different forms, and it’s not always with flashy expectations as a 18-year-old.

As we approach the quarter mark of the 2021-22 NHL season, Jeannot has not only picked up where he left off last season, but is outperforming what many thought he would be able to produce in an elevated role.

Jeannot was protected in the expansion draft by GM David Poile, and is that ever looking like a smart move as they left high-profile players Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen unprotected.

All three players are making huge impacts on the team’s strong and somewhat unexpected start, but Jeannot is really standing out as a 24-year-old rookie who will play in his 30th NHL game tonight against the Arizona Coyotes.

The rookie designation can get complicated at times, but Jeannot didn’t meet the games played requirement last season to be considered a rookie, even though he did play in 15 regular season games and five playoff games.

Jeannot will stick around among best NHL rookies

As of now in the NHL rookie race you’ve got Lucas Raymond leading the charge with 14 points in 15 games, but he doesn’t bring the physical wrecking ball style of play that Jeannot brings. Jeannot has 39 hits on the season, while Raymond has just four hits as that’s clearly not his type of game.

The fact that Jeannot blends his raw hard-hitting style of play while also being a viable offensive scoring threat is what’s so impressive about him. It’s starting to get him attention around the NHL, finally.

Another rookie, also on the Red Wings with Raymond, is Moritz Seider who is a defenseman that’s amazingly getting over 22 minutes of ice time per game. He’s got a really good chance of claiming the Calder Trophy by playing that many minutes while still producing offensively.

And not too far behind both of them is Jeannot with eight points and an 18.5 shooting percentage, which is among the best rookies as well. He has a sneaky accurate shot that he’s really starting to unleash as he gets more comfortable and more NHL games under his belt.

I’m not proclaiming that Jeannot is going to win the first Calder Trophy for the Nashville Predators organization, but I will say he’s going to stick around in the race for the duration of the season. In the end I don’t think he scores enough points to keep up with Raymond or Seider on the Red Wings, but he can definitely hang with the rest of the pack like Dawson Mercer, Cole Sillinger and Jonathan Dahlen.

Not to be overlooked, Philip Tomasino, Tommy Novak and Alexandre Carrier are three other Predators rookies who are getting plenty of playing time and playing vital roles that will be worth tracking in the NHL rookie race as well.

It’s awesome to see the Nashville Predators competing like they are despite using so many young and inexperienced players in the starting lineup, with Jeannot leading the way and having a genuine chance of finish among the best rookies in the NHL when it’s all said and done.