Nashville Predators News & Notes
Entry-Level Expectations: Adam Wilsby | On the Forecheck
When I asked Eric about Scott Wheeler’s report on the Predators prospect pool, he specifically mentioned Wilsby being “way better” than where Wheeler had him (14th on the list of the Preds Top 20 prospects). Here, Eric goes a little more in-depth as to why. Wilsby certainly isn’t a marquee name when it comes to prospects, but he’s shown a lot of promise in the SHL, and — per Eric — it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him become an everyday player for the Preds in a few years.
Admirals’ Ingram named AHL Player of the Week | TheAHL.com
The dude stopped 92 of the 93 shots he faced last week. Ingram’s been doing his best to carry a mediocre Milwaukee team this season, and it’s not unfair to wonder if he’s earned a chance at the Preds’ backup role next season.
Is Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros’ workload too heavy? | Tennessean
One of the biggest questions we had before the season was how Saros would handle a full 82-game season as “the guy.” He’s certainly lived up to the challenge so far, but we’ll have to stay tuned to see if he can indeed pull off one of those Rinne/Vokoun 72-game seasons.
Speaking of Saros, we got a sneak peak at his Stadium Series gear and… yeah, it’s legit.
Nice Stadium Series gear, Juice 🤩 pic.twitter.com/HFXWlzSrwb
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) January 31, 2022
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) January 31, 2022
Rookie Watch: Seider, Zegras lead All-Star Team of first-year players | NHL.com
Tanner Jeannot getting some love on NHL.com’s early All-Rookie squad!
Other Hockey Happenings
NHL, NHLPA issue update on COVID-19 protocol | NHL.com
The big headline from this is that fully vaccinated players will no longer be subjected to daily testing as long as they’re not showing any symptoms. Close contact mandatory testing is also removed.
This will certainly cut down the number of players who wind up on the COVID protocol list. I’ll let you form your own thoughts on this one.
NHL Power Rankings: Avalanche stay on top; Wild, Flames climb | NBC Sports
The Preds move into the Top 10 in this week’s rankings, but they weren’t the division’s biggest climbers this week.
Wild extend Greenway on three-year deal | TSN.ca
3-years, $9 million is a big investment for a guy who hasn’t topped 10 goals in a season since 2019, and who only has 13 points so far this season. But the Wild seem to have big plans for Greenway moving forward, so we’ll see.
BSM43: Canadiens’ reaction to Zack Kassian’s hit on Samuel Montembeault is embarrassing | Eyes On The Prize
I know everyone has different opinions on fighting in hockey, but I will say this. I know that if anyone clobbered Saros behind the net — inadvertent or not — there would be five Nashville Predators immediately charging the skater who made that hit. So when I watch this play (clip in the link) and notice no Canadiens players even REACTING to their goalie being leveled… hell, not even skating to Montembeault to see if he’s okay… that tells me there are serious issues in the Montreal locker room. That’s not a sign of “bought in” team, that’s a sign of a team who’s defeated and counting down the days until the season ends. The Habs need an overhaul in a major way, and it starts with the culture.
Fillier, Harvey among women’s hockey’s next generation | NBC Sports
Beijing might be the last hurrah for popular names like Hilary Knight and Amanda Kessel. But there’s plenty of other young women’s hockey stars ready to become household names.
2022 NHL All-Star Skills highlighted by two new events | NHL.com
Here for the Bellagio Fountain Face-Off only if Danny Ocean’s squad is watching nearby.