The 2023-24 season is fast approaching, and if you haven’t paid attention to the Nashville Predators over the offseason (if so, honestly, you didn’t miss much after the first couple of days in free agency), we at On The Forecheck felt it would be best to give you a preview of what’s to come with the lineup. In this piece, we will look at the forwards, and if you missed our pieces on the defense and goaltending, go read them here and here!
Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene are gone, signaling a new era under new general manager Barry Trotz and new head coach Andrew Brunette. New players are coming into the lineup who haven’t seen much NHL action, and there are new players who have experience in different environments who can help the young players adapt to different situations.
There are obviously a few names that you can rely on to be in the lineup. Filip Forsberg is one of them, looking to stay away from another injury-shortened season next year. He scored 42 points in 50 games last season, including 24 goals, which in a full season is close to a 40-goal pace. Then, there are Colton Sissons and Yakov Trenin, two players who will likely play very deep roles in the Predators lineup this season, but who also would be missed if they weren’t around anymore. Just like Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly (who I’ll talk about momentarily) can help mentor the young players in the top six, Trenin and Sissons can do that as well for those in the bottom six.
So, let’s address the new guys on the block. O’Reilly, a veteran two-way center who will likely be up on the first line (barring an impressive performance from Cody Glass) with Forsberg and a young, skilled forward like Luke Evangelista or Philip Tomasino, will be a huge addition to the team for multiple reasons. As Trotz has stated before, he wants “serial winners,” and O’Reilly knows how to win. Not only does he have a Stanley Cup to his name, but he also has a Conn Smythe.
The next new name in the forward group is Gustav Nyquist, another old-ish player with less experience than O’Reilly, but still someone who has played on some excellent teams with excellent players. The 34-year-old could still be useful in the middle six if necessary. He scored at about a half-point per game last season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild.
Then there’s Denis Gurianov, who the Predators took a flyer on later in the offseason. No matter how much “competition” he will bring in training camp, the likelihood of him being a top-six contributor should be very low. There are other players who deserve those spots, and he likely won’t be viewed as higher in the pecking order than the young players that the team will be prioritizing. Of course, that’s not to say that he can’t be a useful bottom-six or middle-six player. If the Predators can get him back to around 20 goals, that would be excellent for depth scoring, and he could also help their second power-play unit. But at 26 years old, the idea that he still has some incredible breakout season waiting in the wings and he should be given the ice time and teammates to test that theory seems far-fetched, considering the other players in this forward core.
There’s going to be plenty of space occupied consistently by young players in 2023-24, which is exactly what fans have been clamoring for over the last couple of seasons. To start, Cody Glass will hopefully take over as the second-line center, learning as much as he can from O’Reilly and improving on his 35 points in 72 games with the Predators last season. Tommy Novak, who took a big step in his point production last season and put his name into the minds of hockey writers and pundits everywhere, could also occupy a center role in the middle six, or that duty could be given to Juuso Pärssinen, who was on pace for a 45-point rookie campaign (in a full 82-game season) as a seventh-round draft pick before getting injured late in the year.
One player that I do want to talk about more in-depth is Evangelista, and it’s not because I don’t think he will be excellent this year. Rather, it’s to temper expectations. There’s no denying that he was very impressive last season. The hype was absolutely deserved, and he should be included somewhere in the Calder Trophy talk for 2023-24. But he is still 21 years old, and that’s important to remember.
Last year, he was on pace for 51 points in an 82-game span. He was also on pace for 23 goals. There’s no denying that all of that is very impressive. If he gets first-line minutes (which could be in the cards), he may end up reaching that mark. However, he’s still only 21. Could he improve and put up 60 or 65 points? Sure. But young players don’t take linear paths to fulfill their potential, and considering some of the discourse around him and expectations laid out for next season, some fans may end up being highly disappointed if he doesn’t hit certain milestones. So, don’t rule out anything, because he’s going to get plenty of opportunity in the top-six, but don’t be shocked if he’s not as good as you might have wanted him to be.
The last young winger that I want to touch on is Tomasino. He has been a point of contention this offseason between different sects of the Predators’ social media universe, which automatically makes him a player to watch in training camp and through the early parts of the regular season. I’ve already addressed why his future with the team in general shouldn’t be in question, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have anything to prove. In fact, it’s the opposite. Tomasino has to continue to prove that he can be an impact player at the NHL level, and that means upping his scoring and making good on any decision the coaching staff makes to play him with players of higher pedigree. We know what he can bring to any line: speed vertically through all three zones, strong forechecking, good playmaking ability, and a nose for goal-scoring. But can he do that at a higher rate this season? Only time will tell.
It’s also worth talking about a couple of young forwards who could be pushing for a spot in training camp: Egor Afanasyev and Joakim Kemell.
It feels unlikely that Kemell would make the opening night roster, but considering the kind of production he had in the AHL last season and the way he dominated the majority of the prospect showcase games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Carolina Hurricanes, it could really help his chances. At the very least, it could help him get called up earlier in the year if he continues his impressive play in the AHL.
As for Afanasyev, he has lots to prove this season, and it starts in training camp. He played in a fourth-line role last year, not appearing to have any discomfort with how he was told to play and the role he was given. He even scored his first NHL goal against the Calgary Flames. But, we have yet to see much of his offensive capabilities at the NHL level, and the hope is that Brunette’s run-and-gun system will be a huge help to get Afanasyev on the right track in that regard.
The Predators are an interesting team to watch for a multitude of reasons in 2023-24, but their reputation as a “young team” in today’s league comes mainly from their forward group. There will be players in and out of the lineup, some young guys may be contending for spots, and others will need to prove that they can stick at the top. So many storylines and narratives are going to be created with the start of training camp and through the preseason. All we have to do is sit back and watch this forward group go to work.