The Nashville Predators came into this season with high expectations for young centerman Fedor Svechkov. The hope was that the young Russian could continue to show positive signs in his development after a successful rookie season last year and step into a 2C role with the Preds.
Last season, Svechkov appeared in 52 games for Nashville, averaging 12:53 minutes on ice. He scored 17 points and eight goals while also gaining valuable experience on the penalty kill and the second power-play unit. The youngster also won a solid 123 faceoffs, promising signs of a two-way center in the making.
The experiment quickly proved to be too much, too soon for Svechkov this year. It took 12 games to see him record his first point of the season, followed by another 7 scoreless games. Sandwiched into this cold streak, he was healthy scratched for two games on October 26th and 28th to get a mental reset.
It may have taken a while to set in, but something's finally clicking for Svechkov. He has seven points in his last 10 games and is on a three-game point streak with four points in that span.
Fedor Svechkov has gotten a lot of ice time with fellow youngster Matthew Wood, who is enjoying a great rookie season. Seeing the two build chemistry for the future has been a bright spot on this season, as the two skaters are in the team's long-term plans. The two have scored four points together, which is half of Svechkov's season total.
The Predators are off to a much better month so far in December with a record of 4-2-0. The play of Sveckov is helping, but likely won't be enough for a team seven points out of a wildcard. Going into the deadline, the team appears to be ready to retool by trading veterans if they start struggling again, including another popular linemate of Svechkov's, Steven Stamkos. This will lead to less talent around the young center overall, but also open a bigger role for him.
Going down the stretch, it will be important to see Svechkov continue to show positive signs, especially if this team decides to also move center Ryan O'Reilly. The hole down the middle of this roster will be massive, and we will need to see someone capable of stepping up. This recent hot streak suggests Fedor is back and ready for the challenge, but those are awfully big skates to fill.
There's still room for more production, as Svechkov only has one goal on the year while still shooting virtually the same amount as last year. Last year, he had 1.2 SOG/G (shots on goal per game) compared to this year's 1.3 SOG/G. The explanation for the lack of goals, his shooting percentage dipping. Last year, he shot at 12.5% meaning that percentage of his total shots resulted in a goal. This year, his shooting percentage is way down at 2.7%.
It will be exciting to watch Svechkov down the stretch as he finally appears to be continuing where he left off last year in his development. With a larger role and some of his underlying numbers getting back to career average, more positives should be on the horizon, continuing his sophomore season.