It's been gradually building up and growing into a highly-respected prospect pool around the NHL, and the Nashville Predators should start reaping the benefits of that in the not-so-distant future.
The Milwaukee Admirals are currently hanging on for dear life in the Western Conference Finals of the Calder Cup Playoffs of the AHL after winning Game 4 on Thursday night to push off elimination.
This is the second-straight year that the Admirals have made the conference finals, both times coming against the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the AHL affiliate of the Seattle Kraken.
Admirals rally in Game 4 win, Svechkov turning heads
In 2023 the Admirals went out in six games to the Firebird, and this year they're down 3-1 in the series. In Game 4 at home, the Admirals were able to pile up seven goals after going into the 2nd period tied 2-2.
With three goals in the 3rd period to put the Firebirds away, Philip Tomasino, Fedor Svechkov and Roland McKeown all lit the lamp.
Svechkov scored twice in this game and is having arguably the most impressive playoff campaign for the Admirals along with Zachary L'Heureux, who also scored a goal in this game. L'Heureux has 10 goals during the Calder Cup Playoffs and looks to be in the driver's seat to make the Predators roster at some point in 2024-25, and Svechkov likewise is trending up but might be a little bit further away and needing more time in the AHL before making that difficult jump.
It hasn't all been smooth sailing for the Admirals in this deep playoff run with star goaltender Yaroslav Askarov being sidelined with an injury during the entirety of hte conference finals, pushing veteran netminder Troy Grosenick into the starter's crease.
Here's an update on Milwaukee G Yaroslav Askarov from head coach Karl Taylor.
— PATRICK WILLIAMS (@pwilliamsAHL) May 29, 2024
“[Askarov] is dealing with some stuff, but he’s fine. We’re hoping. We’ll see how it proceeds.”
Taylor went on to say that when Askarov is ready, he'll return. But the medical staff will decide that.
With some rocky showings for Askarov in these playoffs, it would be a surprise to see Head Coach Karl Taylor thrust Askarov back into a starter's role over Grosenick even if Askarov recovers from his lower body injury he suffered in the previous round of the playoffs.
In five playoffs games in this year's postseason, Askarov has a sub-par 3.25 GAA and .882 save percentage. Nothing to panic over if you're the Predators as these things happen to young goalie prospects, but it does make you question whether Askarov is truly ready to be the fulltime backup on the NHL level next season.
Game 5 ion Saturday will be another do-or-die situation for the Admirals, and they'll be at home again. In the pervious round in a best-of-5 scenario, the Admirals were down 2-0 to the Grand Rapid Griffins and won three in a row to advance. Now they have to win four in a row.
The top-3 point scorers for the Admirals in the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs are Zachary L'Heureux (15), Fedor Svechkov (11), Joakim Kemell (10). All three are completing their rookie seasons in the AHL.
In a recent piece for Predlines, I highlighted some prospects who have high hopes to possibly make their Predators debuts in 2024-25. L'Heureux leads that list and looks to be the most NHL-ready out of the prospects who haven't appeared in the NHL yet.