Sometimes, as a member of the media, you just have to ask tough questions.
Today, after the Nashville Predators finished off practice, where they exhausted themselves in preparing to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow, I decided to get right to it.
No holding back.
“Do you play video games?”
“If so, what do you play?”
Here’s how they responded.
Filip Forsberg
“I’m not playing as much as I used to. But I’ve got a team on NHL ’24 with my buddies back home, we play a little bit. That, and probably a little bit of Call of Duty, as the season goes on with all the road trips and stuff like that. A couple of guys bring theirs on the road trips. It’s good to kill a couple hours here and there.”
Forsberg also says he hasn’t played against any of the young players yet, but his normal gaming buddies are Dante Fabbro, Alex Carrier, and former Preds defenseman Mattias Ekholm. He used to play FIFA a few years back, but hasn’t gotten back into it.
Luke Evangelista
“Right now, I’m off of it. I don’t even have [a system]… I have my Playstation back home that I’ve gotta get shipped down here. But I play a lot of sports games, like NHL, NBA 2K is one of my favorites, and MLB.”
Evangelista also said last year in Milwaukee, when he lived with Navrim Mutter and Marc Del Gaizo, they would play three team tournaments. When I asked what teams they played with, they said they usually picked “the top loaded teams” like Toronto, Tampa, and New York.
Juuse Saros
“I played a little more during the [COVID shortened season], but I haven’t really played since. Mostly when I played, I played FIFA and Call of Duty”
Saros also says he didn’t have a particular team he played with on “FIFA”, he usually just picked a random team.
Kevin Lankinen
“I used to play a lot of NHL and FIFA, but not anymore. Too busy. Your wife doesn’t like you to play all day, you know?”
Lankinen explained that back in the day, he played NHL frequently, especially in the mode where you build a team online with friends. But now?
“I guess I grew up a lot from that.”
Cole Smith
“I probably haven’t played a video game in, maybe two years now? In college, we played ‘Fortnite’ a bit. And then my first year pro, we had a bunch of guys we would still play with, but I haven’t played in a couple years.”
Smith says he used to play “NHL 07” back in the day, but that was the last he remembered.
“I suck [at video games], so that’s why.”
Tommy Novak
Without a doubt, the biggest story I uncovered in this video games investigation is that Tommy Novak is a legendary “Rocket League” player.
“Rocket League,” for those who don’t know, is a “vehicular soccer video game” where you score soccer goals using cars. It’s fun to watch and apparently very addicting to play.
And Tommy Novak is very, very good at it.
“He’s unbelievable… top 1% or something like that,” one player told me. Another one said “He’s a real student of the game, too… he watches videos on how to get better at it.”
Novak, as he is with everything else, has a muted response when asked about his “Rocket League” skills.
“I’ve been playing for a while, since it came out, with some college buddies,” Novak says. “But yeah, I play it for hours, I guess.”
Novak also played a lot of games on N64 as a kid, mostly “Zelda” and “Super Smash Brothers.”
Yakov Trenin
“Right now? Red Dead Redemption.”
Trenin says he also plays “NHL ’24”, “FIFA”, and “UFC”
Kiefer Sherwood
“I go through phases, I haven’t played since last season,” Sherwood says. “But I used to play a lot of Fortnite, Madden, FIFA, Call of Duty… the main ones, really.”
Juuso Parssinen
“I play PS5 and my go-to game is FIFA. That’s all I play for now.”
Parssinen says he normally plays the “Ultimate Team” mode where you build your own team. Or if he plays with a club, he normally goes with his favorite team, Manchester United. He also dabbles in “Fortnite” and “Call of Duty”.
Colton Sissons
“No.”
So you don’t play any?
“I don’t game at all”
None?
“Nope.”
Gustav Nyquist
“I am bad person to ask,” Nyquist says. “I don’t play… I’m guessing a lot of the younger guys do, but I’d be the wrong person to ask.”
Nyquist said he did try to play “Call of Duty” when he was playing with Columbus during COVID bubble tournament, but says he “was so bad” and just didn’t keep up with it.
Sammy Fagemo
Sammy Fagemo, like Parssinen, plays “FIFA” almost exclusively. When he plays with a club, he usually goes with Liverpool, however his recent move to Nashville has disrupted his video game habits.
“I used to play every day, but the WIFI in the hotel is kind of bad, so I am struggling with that at the moment.”
Philip Tomasino
“Big variety,” Tomasino said. “Rocket League is probably my go-to. I’ve been grinding some original Call of Duty recently. The new NHL, Fortnite, sometimes. And then Forza.”
Tomasino also says when he plays NHL, he plays the “create a player” mode. He leaves most of the physical attributes at random, but makes his players either incredibly skilled or incredibly physical.
“I’m either the sniper or I’m like a six foot seven grinder and I just go around killing guys.”
This article sponsored by The Nashville Spartans
