It’s the start of a new season with plenty of fresh faces in Nashville’s pipeline. Several of those Preds prospects have made an immediate impact in this campaign as the European leagues kicked off earlier this month.
Semyon Chistyakov
Entering the second year of a three-year contract extension, Semyon Chistyakov has made it known he wants to become a top defender in the KHL before making the move to North America. Averaging more than 20 minutes a night for Avangard Omsk, Chistyakov has become their go-to blue liner in all situations.
Through ten games, Chistyakov—who is still just 23—has already posted four goals and five points. Unfortunately, Avangard Omsk has struggled out of the gate, posting just three wins and surrendering nine even-strength goals while Chistyakov’s been on the ice.
Vladislav Yeryomenko
In the other half of the KHL’s eastern conference, Vladislav Yeryomenko continues to play depth minutes for Metallurg Magnitogorsk—the running Gagarin Cup champions. Yeryomenko appeared in just 31 games last year, scoring eight points; the 2018 fifth-round pick has already skated in ten contests and chipped in two assists while playing around 16 minutes a night.
Egor Surin
The highly anticipated Egor Surin has had a slightly bumpy start to his first post-draft campaign. While the forward earned a KHL roster spot out of training camp, he’s skated in just five pro contests, averaging six minutes per night; on a handful of other nights, he dressed but sat on the bench all evening.
That’s not unusual for an 18-year-old in the KHL, but Surin will be looking to earn more opportunities as the season progresses. In the meantime, he’s appeared in two junior games for Loko Yaroslavl.
Anton Olsson
After struggling to stick in the SHL the past few seasons, Anton Olsson made the full-time jump to Finland this summer, signing with Lukka of the Finnish Liiga.
Playing bottom-four minutes, which is just about right for his skillset, Olsson has posted one goal and one assist in six games. But, his defensive woes have persisted out of the gate, surrendering 3.16 even-strength goals per 60 minutes while his team has outscored opponents 20-15 overall.
Kasper Kulonummi
I’ve been banging the drum for Kasper Kulonummi for a few years now; now, we’ve arrived at a make-or-break season for him. Last year, Kulonummi got his first full-time Liiga experience. Now, he’s on a new team—Kiekko-Espoo—that was recently promoted to the top flight and playing important minutes on the blue line.
So far, he’s looked decent. While his club is getting out-possessed about 52.5 percent of the time, Kulonummi has held his own, handling his defensive responsibilities with improved strength. At the other end of the rink, he’s scored two goals and four points in seven contests.
Juha Jatkola
Last year was tough for Juha Jatkola. He appeared in 34 contests for KalPa, faced just 20 shots per night, lost his starting job, and finished the season injured. Over the summer, the 2023 fourth-round pick signed a one-year contract to return to his Liiga club in hopes of resurrecting the form that got him drafted.
So far, he’s split the net with American veteran Stefanos Lekkas, winning twice in three games and posting a 0.914 save percentage. All the while, the defense in front of him has been a tad leaky, surrendering 14.42 expected goals but allowing just 12 in reality. Jatkola needs a contract from Nashville after this year or else he hits free agency.
Viggo Gustafsson
Over in Sweden, one of the newer additions to the prospect pool is making a name for himself in the junior circuit. 2024 third-round pick Viggo Gustafsson is skating on the top pair for HV71’s J20 Nationell team; through eight games, he’s scored once and chipped in five assists, serving as a mainstay on their top power-play unit.
While I expect he’ll spend most of the season at the junior level, Gustafsson will be one of HV71’s first call-ups to the pro club when needed.
Simon Knak
This is the year we see how successful the Simon Knak experiment is. After getting drafted by Nashville in 2021, the Swiss winger spent two seasons improving his game back home with HC Davos. In the 2022-23 campaign, he peaked, scoring eight goals and 23 points in 50 contests. But last year, he was beset by injury and tumbled down the lineup as he couldn’t produce consistently; Knak settled for just 12 points in 32 games.
To start this season, Knak is skating in Davos’ bottom six and earning little time on the power play. He’s scored just one assist in four games and has a long road to climb back up to the top six, where he can hopefully prove to Barry Trotz he’s deserving of an entry-level deal.
Viktor Nörringer
Elsewhere in Europe, Viktor Nörringer is off to a hot start for Frölunda HC. The 2024 fourth-round pick opened the 2024-25 season with one goal and seven points in six games at the J20 Nationell level. After that, he earned his first call-up to the SHL, appearing briefly in two contests alongside fellow Nashville prospect David Edstrom. Expectations aren’t particularly high for the 6’3″ winger, but if he can dominate the junior circuit this year, good things should be in store.
