Revisiting the Biggest Stories for the Nashville Predators in 2023
By Chad Minton
The Young Guns Give the Preds a lot of Hope for the Future
Predators fans got what they wanted in 2023 in terms of seeing the young talent within the prospect pool get NHL playing time. It didn't exactly come according plan, with injuries really ravaging the Predators to close out the 2022-23 season, but nonetheless the young core of players nearly pushed the Predators into the postseason.
Luke Evangelista leads the list of young players to jump into the NHL mix in 2023 and really show they belong. He made his NHL debut on February 28, 2023 and hasn't looked back. In just his fourth NHL game he recording a two-goal effort against the Vancouver Canucks.
Now 60 games into his NHL career, Evangelista has 32 points overall and looking to stick around in the Calder Trophy conversation as we move into 2024.
Egor Afanasyev also made his NHL debut in 2023 and played in 17 games. Yaroslav Askarov, who just won his first NHL game on Saturday, made his NHL debut in January of 2023 and made 31 saves.
Philip Tomasino, Tommy Novak and Juuso Parssinen all became regular in the starting lineup and showed promising results in their development to the point that they are now NHL regulars.
It was the year of ushering in a new era of Nashville Predators hockey in 2023. The ultimate goal of winning the franchise's first Stanley Cup won't come instantaneously, but the organization does appear to be back on the right path after five years of going in reverse.