The Young Players on Nashville Predators don't show any progress
This is a worry that will extend in the offseason if this ends up happening over the final 25 games. You need to see solid growth after the trade deadline once some of the youth benefits from more playing time.
It's been a mixed bag so far this year when it comes to youth development. On one hand, Luke Evangelista has been a huge success after holding out through training camp. He is fourth on the team in points with 42 and is building on his single season career high, which was previously 39 points in 80 games. He has only missed one game so far this season.
Evangelista should remain on the top line and continue to average a career high in ice time at over 16 minutes per game.
Zachary L'Heureux has finally been called up for the first time this season after playing in 62 NHL games for his rookie season and putting up 15 points. Seeing the growth and the next step forward for him would be great to see as he looks to become a regular in the NHL by next season. If we don't see any progress from him, that would be a letdown going into the offseason as he is five years past his draft year, a former first-round pick and about to be age 23. You need to start seeing that steady growth now.
Matthew Wood has had his hot streaks this season, but has also cooled off at long stretches. That's to be expected in what is his rookie season, but seeing him finish strong is important for this team because he is a big part of the future plans going into 2026-27.
A player that hasn't been able to show the positive growth, and if anything has regressed, is Fedor Svechkov. He is at a vital role at the center position, which is depleted for the Predators. Assuming the Predators at least trade one current starting center, whether that's Erik Haula or Michael McCarron, we should see Svechkov resurface and get another chance to finish the season at the NHL level.
On the defensive side, we haven't seen too many young defensemen with the exception of Adam Wilsby. Wilsby has appeared in 43 games and overall has looked like he's on the right path as he was drafted back in 2020 by Nashville.
Justin Barron has been in and out of the starting role and will be an RFA this offseason. The Predators really need to see more from him or else he might just walk in free agency.
It will be a bad sign for just how long this rebuild could take if a collection of these young players, along with others not mentioned, all show little to no growth over the last 25 games. We need to see a positive trend going into the offseason with some of these prospects and younger NHL players.
Seeing this players stunted in their growth and NHL potential will also be an indictment on Andrew Brunette not being the right head coach to lead the organization through this reset of youth.
I will wrap this up with my totally glass half-full outlook on the last 25 games; making the playoffs would just be a bonus on top of what is really most important to me, which is winning the trade deadline as sellers and seeing positive growth for the young talent that will be in more prominent roles in 2026-27.