Prospect Info: At 30th Overall the Predators Select Eeli Tolvanen

[INDhockeyfan]

How did this even happen? Most mocks had him in the top 15. Is the Boston college commitment an issue maybe. Something has to be up for him to drop to 30. Kid has skills!

Lots of teams wanted centers and defensemen. He was the 4th winger taken.

 

[worstfaceoffmanever]

McKenzie was mentioning this tonight, but Tolvanen was rejected by Boston College admissions. Oshawa holds his CHL rights, so that could be his next stop.

 

[maplepred]

Small isn't always bad. Just look at arvy! At 5'10"/11" he isn't really small...

Only thing that scares me though is having fiala, arvy and eeli in our top six. All are very small for the big rough western conference. We will need to get some bigger bodies to round out too six.
Johansen and forsberg are perfect. Need another Neal. Although I guess we would astually need a centre and kamenev/Trenton have great size, even more so does ejdsell.

Love this pick though!! Was not hyped about draft until this happened!

 

[klt2001]

Well he looks to be James Neal replacement in a couple years. We really needed better goal scorer forwards so I'm happy w/ this pick Hope he does well in the NHL.

 

[sparkle twin]

Between here and on twitter, people calling it a steal, best value of the 1st round, everyone seems happy. Seeing highlights and comparisons, I'm happy. Not really concerned at all about his size right now.

Welcome to Smashville Eeli!!

How do we say his name, E-lie or Ell-e? I heard both tonight.

 

[ijuka]

Between here and on twitter, people calling it a steal, best value of the 1st round, everyone seems happy. Seeing highlights and comparisons, I'm happy. Not really concerned at all about his size right now.

Welcome to Smashville Eeli!!

How do we say his name, E-lie or Ell-e? I heard both tonight.

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=249730

When you click the icon next to his name you get the correct pronunciation.

 

[behemolari]

Pure goal scorer, i don't think there would be better with for him than Nashville which doesn't absolutely need big two way forwards

 

[josiesque]

Just watched highlights of this boy and the reports say steal too. Awesome player.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

How are you guys on wings? Is it gonna be tough for him to make the lineup?

 

[SauceMyBiscuit]

How are you guys on wings? Is it gonna be tough for him to make the lineup?

Deep

 

[Mortiest Morty]

Deep

Sort of, but there aren't many legit top 6 guys. Mostly 3rd/4th liners, so if the guy has top 6 skill, he can jump plenty of other guys over the next couple of years.

As for the pick itself, you can't really hope for any better considering the pick was 30th overall, mid first round talent (or better) definitely. Saw him going as high as 9th in the NHL.com mocks. Here's what Corey Pronman wrote about him right after the pick:

"This is the steal of the first round, Nashville gets Tolvanen, one of the best goal-scorers in the class, and a player who becomes their clear top forward prospect. He was reportedly rejected by Boston College, so if he doesn't end up on campus, he could potentially enter the Predators' system right away in the AHL."

Also this:

 

[PredsV82]

so was it size alone that made this guy fall to 30? or what?

any rumored attitude issues?

 

[Legionnaire11]

Yeah, I definitely wouldn't say "Deep"... Beyond Forsberg and Arvidsson what is there? A lot of Hope in Fiala, a bag of disappointment in Wilson and Smith and then a bunch of fourth liners, maybe Aberg will exceed expectations though.

Ideally Tolvanen develops into a first/second liner and we can shed one of Wilson or Smith.

Forsberg - C - Arvidsson
Fiala - C - Tolvanen
Wilson - C - Aberg
Watson - C - Salomaki

If everyone stays healthy and hits their peak, that's a good enough roster. But there's definitely some question marks there and there will be speed bumps along the way.

Tolvanen could very well bust too. Arvidsson could (likely) regress a bit. It's far from a sure thing, let's hope that we can manage a bit of luck for a change.

 

[Mortiest Morty]

so was it size alone that made this guy fall to 30? or what?

any rumored attitude issues?

Doubt it would be his size. Combine put him at 5'10 1/2 and 189, that's not small for the NHL today. And he's built pretty strong too, did well on the pullups and bench press.

Maybe he simply dropped because of a run on centers/defenseman, similar to Forsberg. He was the 3rd or 4th winger taken I believe. I don't know why he dropped and I haven't seen anyone that does for sure, but I also haven't seen any indications that he has any attitude problems.

Edit: I just checked, he was the 3rd winger taken and the first wasn't taken until pick 22 (The 5'7" 145 pound Yamamoto, now THAT is small, lol)

 

[hockey diva]

I would like to see him in the CHL or Milwaukee. Maybe BC rejecting him is a blessing in disguise?

 

[PredsV82]

Don't think he was a sniper.

He was when he was drafted. Reinvented himself as a passer in the KHL

 

[triggrman]

He was when he was drafted. Reinvented himself as a passer in the KHL

Goal scorer yes, sniper no.

 

[PredsV82]

I would like to see him in the CHL or Milwaukee. Maybe BC rejecting him is a blessing in disguise?

Not sure whether I'd rather him start off in Milwaukee
(Which would start his ELC, right? ) or play a year in junior.

If he goes the junior route could he come to the Ads the next year or would it be one of those situations where he'd either be on the Preds or back to junior?

 

[triggrman]

Not sure whether I'd rather him start off in Milwaukee
(Which would start his ELC, right? ) or play a year in junior.

If he goes the junior route could he come to the Ads the next year or would it be one of those situations where he'd either be on the Preds or back to junior?

He wasn't drafted out of the CHL, so I don't think the 19 year old rule applies.

 

[hockey diva]

Either way, it's NA ice with a pro style schedule.

 

[DaJackal]

While I'm not super high on Tolvanen (as he is a bit one-sided player), I have to say two things:

1) At #30 this kid is a STEAL
2) There is probably no better team for him to end up in than Nashville.

Congratulations! I have watched him a lot and the Tarasenko comparisons are spot on. For his size he is good at protecting the puck (stays on his feet well) and when compared to other Finnish juniors during the last 4 years his shot is only second to Laine.

 

[lstcyr]

Either way, it's NA ice with a pro style schedule.

Hasn't he been playing on NA ice the last two years in the USHL? Or am I reading his profile wrong?

 

[INDhockeyfan]

Be interesting where we decide to put him if he doesn't go to college. He can go back to Finland and play, CHL as a team does have his rights or the Milwaukee since he wasn't drafted out of the CHL. He is still several years away from the NHL but a really good prospect.

 

[King Weber]

Saw someone mention it on Twitter last night that he's expressed interest in playing in the AHL next season

 

[worstfaceoffmanever]

Not sure whether I'd rather him start off in Milwaukee
(Which would start his ELC, right? ) or play a year in junior.

If he goes the junior route could he come to the Ads the next year or would it be one of those situations where he'd either be on the Preds or back to junior?

Honestly, I think I'd like to sign him right away. With his speed at 5-10/181, he's physically in a place where he won't get tossed around like a rag doll in the AHL, and being in our strength program for basically a free two years with the ELC slide rule would be a huge boost to his development.