Is Hornqvist another Pihlstrom?

by PredHead on Sep 21, 2009 8:13 PM EDT

As Pred Nation crawls out from underneath what will probably be known as "the Kessel hangover," we are left with an annoying sound ringing in our ears. That sound is the question, "If not Phil, who?"

Who will fill the void left in our top six forwards? The answer, as it seems for now, is that the 2nd line winger spot will be filled by one of several relatively untested rookies. Based on the lines we've seen so far in preseason the front-runner for this position would appear to be Mike Santorelli, who played in only 7 NHL games last season. I would not be surprised, however, to hear that Patric Hornqvist is a close 2nd place for the job. After all, Hornqvist dawned the Predators jersey a whopping 28 times last year!

In fairness to these two players, both have been lighting it up in the preseason, and I have no doubts that either or both of them could be poised to have breakout seasons this year. However, I can't help but be reminded of another rookie from last season who seemed poised for greatness: "Captain Hair" himself, Antti Pihlstrom. As we all know, Pihlstrom didn't exactly "Rock the Casbah" as a winger in the NHL. So, before we hand over a top six winger to someone like Hornqvist, it's fair to ask the question: Is Hornqvist another Pihlstrom?

Let's start with the similarities:

Obviously, both are easily recognized for their blonder than blonde (don't stare directly at it or you'll burn your retinas) hair.
Both come from Scandinavian countries known for Viking ships, geothermal energy, and blonde hair (go figure).
Both earned exactly 2 goals and 5 assists last season.
Both are known for speed and willingness to shoot the puck.
Both seemed cursed at times last season with an inability to find the back of the net: Pihlstrom with a disappointing 2.3% scoring percentage, and Hornqvist not much better with 3.7%.

Differences:

Hornqvist earned his 7 points (2g, 5a) in only 28 contests, as opposed to Pihlstrom's 53.
Pihlstrom is somewhere in Europe right now, while Hornqvist is fighting for an NHL roster spot.
Hornqvist is leading the NHL in preseason shots on goal, while Pihlstrom is leading his Viking buddys with shots of mead (I'm assuming).
Dirk, feel free to jump in here with any kind of Corsi stat (forgive me, I'm new at this).
Finally, and possibly most importantly, I have reason to believe that Patric Hornqvist trained in the Cobra Kai Dojo during the early 80s. Watch for him to appear approximately 2:30 into the video...

You're The Best Music Video (via xrockhardx)

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Comments

Excellent stuff

You know it was funny, before I went to the intra-squad scrimmage last Wednesday, I had kind of forgotten that Hornqvist was even in camp! Compared to Santorelli I think he’s a longshot to make the Preds roster right from the start, and this is really a make-or-break season for him. One could write off his disappointing performance last season to the fact that he had to adjust to North American hockey, but there’s no reason he shouldn’t take a step forward, at least to take a leading role down in Milwaukee.

As to Antti Pihlstrom, I’m glad you brought up Corsi numbers, because really, that was one area in which I saw some real potential from the young Finn. Yes, his shooting percentage was truly awful last year, but I would have liked to see him get one more shot at NHL action to see whether that might improve (after all, Tootoo’s shooting percentage was in the same ballpark last year). Why? Because when it came to turning the tide of Total Shots For & Against, he was far and away the best player on the team.

Yes, he had trouble putting the puck in the net, but his speed gave the Preds the advantage in terms of puck control. During his time on the ice, Shots For were 31 per 60 minutes, best on the team among regular players. Shots Against were 23.4 per 60 minutes, again best on the team. I would think performance like that would be worth one more look at the NHL level, but now we’ll never know.

More fun than a stick to the face!
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators.

by Dirk Hoag on Sep 21, 2009 9:01 PM EDT reply actions

philhorn

i would have been for philly being back. he was BY FAR our best forechecker, which should be important on this site. i was dissappointed with his scoring, but if EVERYONE had played with his intensity before the all star break we would have walked into the playoffs. he NEVER took a shift off. patric, on the other hand, did nothing.

by predswilrule on Sep 22, 2009 11:27 PM EDT reply actions

Question Answered

With his performance in tonight’s game, Hornqvist has proven that he not just another Antti Philstrom but rather an incarnation of Thor (the Norse god of thunder and hockey goals… I think…).

"Get to the Choppa!"

by PredHead on Oct 8, 2009 11:46 PM EDT reply actions