Roman Josi stepped into this season with great expectations. Many who watched the smooth-skating defenseman in Milwaukee thought he looked ahead of current Predator blueliner Shea Weber and public enemy number one Ryan Suter when they were his age. Lane Lambert and even bench boss Barry Trotz gushed about the Swiss defensemen before his arrival in Music City USA and have since fallen in love with Josi's style of play. While Josi may not be a household name yet, the 6'2 sophomore is doing all the right things and playing a detail oriented game that coaches like to see.

Roman Josi

#59 / Defenseman / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-2

Weight: 198

Born: Jun 01, 1990

There were a few concerns going into the season about Josi's ability to handle Suter's workload, but Josi seems to have hardly missed a beat on the top pairing with Weber. Josi has seen a dramatic increase in his power play minutes and has seen a bit of time on the PK as well. Perhaps the most telling statistic, however, his Josi's average time on ice compared to some of the current and former Predator greats in their sophomore years.

Take a look:

• Roman Josi 22:14
• Shea Weber 19:29 07-08 (excluding 28 game stint his rookie season)
• Ryan Suter 20:09 06-07
• Dan Hamhuis 22:33 05-06
• Kevin Klein 19:55 09-10 (excluding plethora of being called up and down)
• Kimmo Timonen 21:05
• Jonathon Blum 17:56
• Marek Zidlicky 20:03

Only Dan Hamuis had more average ice time in his sophomore year.That is pretty good company.
What are your thoughts on Josi's play through a third of the season? Have you been impressed?