It’s been quite some time since the Nashville Predators have entered a training camp with as much intrigue as this year’s.
The team who reports to Ford Ice Center Bellevue this week will be drastically different than the Preds teams we’ve become accustomed to over the past handful of seasons. It’s the first camp in Predators’ history without David Poile at the helm, and likewise, the first under Barry Trotz’s grand regime. Andrew Brunette has replaced John Hynes as head coach. Familiar faces like Ryan Johansen, Matt Duchene, Mattias Ekholm, and Mikael Granlund are gone, while new players Ryan O’Reilly, Gustav Nyquist, and Luke Schenn will step into prominent roles. Take all of that turnover and factor in a plethora of exciting, blue-chip prospects ready to compete for NHL minutes, and you have yourself a training camp that’s “must-see.”
There will be no shortage of storylines to watch during camp, including a few that may shape the Predators’ future over the next couple of months.
What does an Andrew Brunette-coached Preds team actually look like?
We’ve heard a lot about Brunette’s style of play: a high-octane, free-flowing offense that’s entertaining to watch and bliss for fantasy owners who have his players on their teams. The million dollar question is how some of the current Nashville Predators fit into that vision.
While a lot of focus has been on new signings and up-and-coming young players and prospects, a new coach could mean a new role for several familiar faces. For instance, Roman Josi was the focal point of the offensive strategy under John Hynes (more than 60% of his zone starts were in the offensive zone under Hynes’s watch, per NaturalStatTrick.) Could Brunette instead give his star defender a bigger share of starts in the defensive zone, closer to Josi’s role under Peter Laviolette? If that’s the case, does the focal point of the offense shift to Filip Forsberg, who might be in store for another career year?
Other players may see their roles adjusted to best fit Brunette’s style of play. Forwards like Yakov Trenin, Tommy Novak, and Cody Glass and defensemen like Alexandre Carrier and Dante Fabbro could all be used in slightly different ways from what we’re accustomed to seeing. It may take a couple of months to give us a long-term idea of Brunette’s vision for each player, but how they’re used in preseason may give us a few hints.
Who emerges from the defensive logjam?
The Predators currently have seven defensemen who could have been considered “every game” players for their respective teams last year: Josi, Carrier, Fabbro, Ryan McDonagh, Tyson Barrie, Jeremy Lauzon, and the newly acquired Luke Schenn. Teams typically play only six defenders each game. For those of you playing at home, that there’s going to be an odd-man out.
The Preds could certainly roll out a routine lineup of eleven forwards and seven defensemen, but it’s more likely there’s going to be someone significant relegated to an “extra blueliner” role. It’s an intriguing storyline, because the Preds either have decent term or a decent salary invested in all seven blueliners, meaning they’re going to have a decent investment sitting on the bench when everyone’s healthy.
Of course, there’s an outside chance that a defender is moved before the season starts; Tyson Barrie, in particular, is someone that would draw strong interest from around the league. As of now though, it seems the Predators are set with starting the season with the aforementioned seven players, with Spencer Stastney and Jake Livingstone as the “next men up” in Milwaukee. However, it’s a storyline worth watching as the season progresses.
What’s Ryan O’Reilly’s role in the Predators’ lineup?
The 2019 Conn Smythe winner was by far the most notable free agent addition to the Predators’ lineup, and a somewhat surprising one at that. Many pundits expected O’Reilly to sign with a team closer to Cup contention, while many Preds fans weren’t expecting Barry Trotz to shell out a sizable four-year contract for a 32-year-old player this summer. And yet, Trotz made it clear a player with O’Reilly’s pedigree was going to be critical in moving the Predators towards the promise land.
The Preds are hoping O’Reilly’s leadership and work ethic rub off on the younger players. But in terms of O’Reilly’s on-ice impact, that’s more of a question mark. Given that he’s the most experienced center in the locker room, many consider it a foregone conclusion that he will be the Preds’ 1C moving forward. However, as we saw last season, O’Reilly might be at the stage of his career where he best thrives in a middle-six support role. Whether the Preds have a good enough top-line center at the moment to make that happen remains to be seen.
At worst, O’Reilly’s addition might be comparable to the role Mike Fisher played when he was brought to the Preds at a similar stage in his career in 2011 — someone with enough awareness and versatility to play up and down the lineup card as needed. He’s skilled enough to be a number one center option when needed, or he can utilize his two-way prowess to hold down the fort on the second or third line. What role he plays to start the year might depend on…
Are the young forwards ready to carry the offense?
The likes of Phil Tomasino, Luke Evangelista, Cody Glass, and Juuso Parssinen provided a massive spark to the Preds’ lineup at the end of last season, in terms of both production and entertainment value. Each player, in addition to Tommy Novak, changed a lot of people’s thoughts on the immediate future of the Preds’ forward core, and inspired optimism that a full year of each player under the Trotz/Brunette regime may yield a couple of franchise forward options.
The young players will certainly have a shot to make that happen. The Preds have lost 76 goals from last year’s lineup, 33% of the scoring on a team that didn’t have much scoring to begin with. Trotz mentioned specifically that he moved on from players like Matt Duchene, Ryan Johansen, Mikael Granlund, and Nino Niederreiter to open spots for younger players ready for more responsibility. The Preds desperately need some of the younger players to step up and shoulder the offensive load.
However, those players will need to prove they’re ready for that burden, and that starts with an impressive camp. Tomasino, Evangelista, and perhaps even Egor Afanasyev and Joakim Kemell will get opportunities in the practices and preseason games to work with the Preds’ big-name players at 5v5 and special teams. If some of these players impress, we can expect to see them in significant roles to start the season.
The Nashville Predators are set to officially open camp on Wednesday, September 20. The first practices will begin on Thursday at Ford Ice Center Bellevue, with the first preseason games happening Monday, September 25. For a full primer on Predators training camp, including the official camp roster and practice schedule, click here.
