Nashville Predators: 3 Bold Predictions for the 2022 Preseason

Tomasino carries last season’s momentum into the preseason

Tomasino’s impressive rookie campaign in 2021-22 got lost in the shuffle a bit due to career years from others like Forsberg and Josi. His 32 points were commendable for such a young player, but the fact that he appeared in 76 games was equally impressive and shows me coaches were loving what they saw.

I’m looking for Tomasino to play extensive minutes in the preseason to give coaches a measuring stick on if he’s ready for top-six ice time to open the regular season. Ideally speaking, you’d love to see Tomasino fill into a second line role and solidify the top two forward lines.

Tomasino should get some light work with Ryan Johansen and Nino Niederreiter in at least one preseason game. As I mentioned earlier, I don’t think the veterans like Johansen and Niederreiter are going to play a ton, but when they’re out there I’d like to see them lined up with Tomasino.

Once the younger prospects get into the game, Tomasino should emerge as a top line guy in the preseason, and it will be fun to see how he responds to that elevated role, even if it’s just exhibition games.

My first bold prediction is that Tomasino fills the scoresheet in his preseason action, and claims his top-six role to open the regular season against the San Jose Sharks on October 7.