Luke Evangelista should get serious look for Nashville Predators top power play unit

While it's true that the Nashville Predators power play showed improvement under Year 1 of Head Coach Andrew Brunette's leadership, it has the real chance to be elite in 2024-25.

After adding Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei in free agency, on top of the weapon they already had beforehand, this power play has top-10 in the NHL written all over it. Maybe even top-5.

But just how Brunette will choose to employ his power play units is up for debate. Training camp is giving us some glimpses into his early thinking, and Luke Evangelista is a returning player that deserves strong consideration for the top unit.

Here's the four locks I see for the Predators top unit; Roman Josi, Steven Stamkos, Filip Forsberg and Ryan O'Reilly. The fifth slot is up for grabs, and Evangelista has a chance to earn that spot.

Evangelista's rookie NHL season was a success while finishing sixth on the team in points with 39 and showing his consistency by appearing in 80 games. Very solid stuff from a 21-year-old rookie to start the season.

As for his power play presence, there's an opportunity to take a big step forward in his second full-time NHL season. Last season, Evangelista managed to put up three power play goals and seven power play assists while the Predators top power play unit feasted, but the second unit struggled to find consistency.

Marchessault is considered a strong candidate to fill out the fifth spot of the top power play unit, but there's also Gus Nyquist who could make a run for that spot. After all, the chemistry from O'Reilly, Forsberg and Nyquist can't be disputed and putting them all back together not only as the top foward line, but on the top power play unit makes sense.

However, I'm thinking about it from a different angle. I want the Predators to have a two-headed monster with their power play. Wave 1 comes at you with Josi, Forsberg, Stamkos and company, then buckle up because if they don't score, here comes Wave 2 with Marchessault, Skjei and Nyquist.

I just think it makes more sense to balance out the units, and if Brunette chooses that route, then I live Evangelista to fill out the top unit. He's poised to be a breakout player in 2024-25, and while he's expected to be in the bottom-six and probably on the third line, there's an opening for him to see his offensive numbers take off on a loaded top power play unit.

Imagine the growth we can see from Evangelista if he gets to play on the man advantage with Josi, Stamkos, Forsberg and O'Reilly?

You want to find ways to promote the younger talent of the team that's the future. After the free agency splurge, I totally get why Evangelista isn't going to be in the top-six. He's not overtaking Marchessault's second line role right out of training camp, nor should he.

As of now, DailyFaceoff projects Evangelista to be on the second power play unit with Nyquist, Skjei, Tommy Novak and Juuso Parssinen. A strong second unit in its own respect, but I still lean toward swapping out Marchessault for Evangelista. At least experiment with it early in the season.

If the Predators are going to really unlock their full potential that we see on paper and translate it not only to regular season success, but playoff success, the power play is going to have to become among the elites in the NHL. And it serves you better by having a one-two punch with your two units over overloading your top unit and having another scenario where your second unit lacks consistency.

There is the option to just never take your top unit off the ice, which teams tend to do when they have power play loaded with future Hall of Famers. I get that strategy and if the Predators are cooking with Stamkos and company, then of course you leave them out there the whole two minutes and put that enormous pressure on the penalty killers.

Also on a side note, I wouldn't overlook Philip Tomasino in all of this. I can see him earning a look on the second power play unit out of training camp. His first step is going to be elevating his overall play and earning back the trust from the coaches to get regular starts first, but if he does that, then I can see him on the second power play unit over Parssinen.

It's going to be fascinating to watch. Stamkos is one of the best power play scorers in NHL history, and we're already seeing him at training camp working on those one-timers. I think you have to mix it up and have a balanced attack, which is why Evangelista should get the early chance to join the party at the top and see what's he's made of early in his NHL career.