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

[Razamanaz]

... and most of those Swedish players that you today consider as heroes at Nashville today; were pure chicken shite compared to Eeli Tolvanen of today.

European style that is.

 

[Razamanaz]

Give that kid a break ... for heaven sake!

He ain't a young Jesus on skates and a fearful shot remember.

 

[NSHPreds1835]

Tolvanen needs to be playing on the 1st or 2nd line, he's not going to get many looks if he's playing with guys like Bonino and Sissons.

 

[Sabre Toothed]

... and most of those Swedish players that you today consider as heroes at Nashville today; were pure chicken ****e compared to Eeli Tolvanen of today.

European style that is.

Yeah but what about the swedish girls?

I kind of like them.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

When you really think about it, the situation Eeli was kinda thrown into was ridiculous. NHL is the greatest league in the world. Nashville is one of the best NHL teams. You don't just jump in cold as a teenager and start destroying. He'll train in the summer and then learn NHL game and the systems in the next training camp & preseason.

 

[LCPreds]

I know he's played on the smaller ice before but surely it still takes some time to adjust. It was kind of noticeable a few times that he was getting a little jumpy and I think that is only natural when your mind is basically realizing the difference before your body has adjusted.

 

[SauceMyBiscuit]

I know he's played on the smaller ice before but surely it still takes some time to adjust. It was kind of noticeable a few times that he was getting a little jumpy and I think that is only natural when your mind is basically realizing the difference before your body has adjusted.

Yeah it seems like it's a timing adjustment. He has a split a second to make a decision, but he's learning how large/small that split second is.

 

[DDRhockey]

Tolvanen needs to be playing on the 1st or 2nd line, he's not going to get many looks if he's playing with guys like Bonino and Sissons.

How about he earn it?

 

[Pred303]

a low pressure game tomorrow where he should get top 6 and plenty of PP time. a perfect night for him to gain some NHL confidence. and for lavy to gain some confidence in him as well.

 

[wadesworld]

a low pressure game tomorrow where he should get top 6 and plenty of PP time. a perfect night for him to gain some NHL confidence. and for lavy to gain some confidence in him as well.

I think we'll see him tomorrow. It's probably the last game he'll play this year unless injuries force their hand.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

How about he earn it?

That's not the only way to develop a player. In Winnipeg for an example Maurice likes to put the promising rooks with Scheifele & first PP unit.

 

[Flgatorguy87]

How about he earn it?

Barry???? Is that you?

 

[Legionnaire11]

Yeah "Earn it" is the old school way of thinking. Now we know that skilled players need to play in skilled positions to succeed. Makes you think of how many NHL caliber players missed out on a decent career because they were forced to start on the fourth line as a square peg in a round hole?

"if you judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree, you will go through life believing it is stupid"...

 

[PredsV82]

While I agree the Tolvanen shouldn't be played as a 4th line plug with players who can't get him the puck or wont even be in the offensive zone much, this team has 4 rock solid top 6 wingers, and so, barring injury, there isn't going to be a top 6 spot open for him any time soon.

With everyone healthy, the third line is going to be his spot whether its optimal or not.
I hate it that he can go back the KHL if he doesn't make the NHL roster. The ideal situation next year would be to be on the top line in Mikwaukee and a call up when a top 6 wing gets hurt.

 

[Legionnaire11]

Our third line is fine for him especially when Jarnkrok is healthy. Bottom six to start next year?

Tolvanen - Sissons - Jarnkrok
Salomaki - Bonino - Watson

With Bonino sliding up if shows more playmaking skills next year.

 

[PredsV82]

Our third line is fine for him especially when Jarnkrok is healthy. Bottom six to start next year?

Tolvanen - Sissons - Jarnkrok
Salomaki - Bonino - Watson

With Bonino sliding up if shows more playmaking skills next year.

I think Bones has shown hes better than Sissons already. Assuming he isn't slowed by an injury again next year he will be the 3C, with Sissons as 4C

 

[DaJackal]

This is exactly the way you should treat your top talents: give them a couple of games in the top six and surround them with good players in order to see what they can do. If they're that good, they will figure it out - or at least pick up a lot of things they need to work on. If they don't, they were not ready and should be further developed in the AHL (or in this case offseason might do the trick too).

If the player seems to do OK in NHL (defensively sound and not a liability on ice) but the points aren't coming, then it's time to play him in the bottom six and let him work his way up.

Eeli will be fine. He gets useful experience from these games and being with the team every day in the playoffs, even if he didn't dress up for one single game. In the autumn we will see the exhibition games and re-evaluate.

 

[King Weber]

Oh boy. This is excellent for Finland.

 

[Armourboy]

He should be well rested.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

Scored one of them goals today

 

[Armourboy]

I think he will be fine, he just needs to come in at the start of the season when everyone else is still trying to get up to speed as well. It was a lot to expect for a guy to adjust to a different level of play, especially when that level of play has been ramped up even more by the playoff push. Heck Fisher never really caught back up to it after coming back and he had been in the league for years.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

I think he will be fine, he just needs to come in at the start of the season when everyone else is still trying to get up to speed as well. It was a lot to expect for a guy to adjust to a different level of play, especially when that level of play has been ramped up even more by the playoff push. Heck Fisher never really caught back up to it after coming back and he had been in the league for years.

Why wouldn't he? He'll be extremely fine.

1+1 against team Canada after not playing for 6 weeks as a 19 year old. Come on, he'll be a star.

 

[King Weber]

goal and an assist tonight.

some really crisp cross ice passes on the PP, which is nice as long as he doesn't completely forget that you can also shoot the puck

 

[Osprey]

I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but at least the Preds didn't burn that first year of his entry level contract, since he didn't play in at least 9 games. At one point, it seemed almost guaranteed that they would, since he was expected to get into more games and the team was expected to go further than the 2nd round. It's minor, but it's a silver lining.

 

[Armourboy]

I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but at least the Preds didn't burn that first year of his entry level contract, since he didn't play in at least 9 games. At one point, it seemed almost guaranteed that they would, since he was expected to get into more games and the team was expected to go further than the 2nd round. It's minor, but it's a silver lining.

I have a strange feeling the plan was not to burn it, they just gave him some games to see if he was going to come out with guns blazing and then make that choice if they needed to.