Philip Tomasino Getting a Chance to Reignite his Hockey Career with Admirals

One of the biggest changes in the most recent weeks for the Nashville Predators has been the movement of Egor Afanasyev and Mark Jankowki from the Milwaukee Admirals to the Nashville Predators. This move did not come alone however, as Phil Tomasino was sent down to the Milwaukee Admirals for the first time since playing with them in the Calder Cup Playoffs last season.

The 22-year-old forward had finally started to find his game at the midway point of the season, but Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette has been particularly critical of his game. He stated that Tomasino wasn’t reliable enough at late moments in a game because of losing board battles and not as strong defensive play. 

Although opinions on Tomasino’s play vary throughout people in the organization, Brunette decided that it would be best to send Tomasino down in order to get some more depth from Afanasyev and Jankowski. 

In his six games for the Admirals this season, Tomasino has two goals and four assists. Not only has he started to find his offensive game again, he has also refined his defensive play that Brunette has been trying to fix.

Playing with the Admirals Should be Beneficial for Tomasino

Tomasino has certainly had a memorable few weeks with the Admirals, as the team just had a 19-game win streak come to an end. The Admirals are in sole possession of the second longest winning streak in AHL history, which is quite a feat for the team. 

Tomasino has certainly made a large impact on the team so far, and is very noticeable every time he is on the ice. He is no stranger to Admirals Head Coach Karl Taylor, who coached the young forward back when he was first starting professional hockey in the Predators organization.

Taylor has done a great job with the improvement and development of Tomasino, as he has made drastic improvements every year after spending just a short amount of time with the coach. This isn’t unique to just Tomasino, as Juuso Parssinen, who is in a similar situation as Tomasino, has also been reunited with his old coach. 

So far, Taylor has been very beneficial to both players upon their returns to Milwaukee, as both are finding their offense again as well as refining their defensive play throughout a complete game. 

Although this change for Tomasino was rather sudden, it is hard to find too many negative things about it for him, as he wasn’t getting nearly as many minutes in Nashville as he is now getting in Milwaukee due to losing the trust of Brunette.

With a player like Tomasino who is still (shockingly) on his entry level contract, it is important for him to be getting full minutes no matter where he is playing so that he can continue to develop and find a permanent spot on an NHL roster. 

This is only Tomasino's second stint with the Admirals since being drafted by the Predators in 2019. During the pandemic season of 2020-21, the Admirals cancelled their season and Tomasino played for the Chicago Wolves in 29 games. He made his Predators debut the following year.

Although he is currently in Milwaukee, I believe we will see Tomasino back in Nashville pretty soon with the trade deadline looming throughout the league. Tomasino’s reset in Milwaukee is sure to prove beneficial to him when he is called up again later.