Nashville Predators

[bondon]

Hey guys, not actually doing the team coverage for the Predators but Gates has asked me to open up a thread so that Predators issues/updates can be posted here by anyone who comes across info or needs help. Feel free to post here, and if someone would like to step up and take on this team PM GMGates.

Cheers!

[bondon]

Blake Geoffrion has been assigned to Milwaukee, for those leagues deep enough to have Geoffrion on your roster (i.e. the UHL)

[dyzfunctioned]

Blake Geoffrion has been assigned to Milwaukee, for those leagues deep enough to have Geoffrion on your roster (i.e. the UHL)

Didn't this happen a while back?

Slow updates or what man. Just busting your balls

[bondon]

Didn't this happen a while back?

Slow updates or what man. Just busting your balls

What? Really? I just saw it on Joshua Cooper's twitter feed like a couple of hours ago. Whoops.

In other breaking news, Shea Weber has a concussion....

[metaldude26]

How on Earth are we going to get team coverage for this team if neither Gates nor Dutch (the only two people crazy enough to follow this team regularly) wants to do it? Unbelievable. We need to like hypnotize someone and convince them that they love Nashville. I nominate b0ndon or maybe TK.

[GMGates]

I <3 Nashville ...

If only someone could take on this thread

[Shake]

Glad to hear Weber back practicing. No timetable yet for game action.


http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=609753

[Killer67]

Glad to hear Weber back practicing. No timetable yet for game action.


http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=609753

Hooray, Shake has volunteered to run the thread!!!

[Shake]

Hooray, Shake has volunteered to run the thread!!!

LOL not a chance in hell my friend

[Killer67]

Maybe if they had more than 3 fantasy relevant players, there would be more interest, lol. I love me some Pekka, that's fo sho!

[Killer67]

How about that Sergei Kostitsyn? I always like him in Montreal, thought he didn't get a fair shake. Not that a lot of players do there. He should have changed his name to Kostitson, that would've made him more well liked.

[Killer67]

Weber back to practice with limited contact.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20...xt%7CFRONTPAGE

Funny quote from Trotz in this article.
“We just kept him out of a little bit of the contact stuff,� Coach Barry Trotz said. “We probably should have put him in a different (colored) jersey, but everybody knew not to run into him. There wasn’t really any hitting drills or anything like that, so he was good.�

[mister_mcgoo]

Josh Cooper of the Tennessean gives his breakdown on what the Preds should do in the offseason with over half their team either RFAs or UFAs. I don't agree with most of his assessment but its a good breakdown to see where they are at each position

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20...le%20Predators

[uofmehockey]

The off season may have already started for Nashville, but that simply means that there are no longer any regular season or playoff games going on. Much of the work continues behind the scenes. Upcoming focuses for team management include:
a. Signing previously drafted players to contracts or relinquishing the rights of those whose rights will be expiring.
b. Preparation for the upcoming entry draft.
c. Issuing qualifying offers (QO) to RFAs and identifying and signing UFAs (returnees or other) in preparation for next season.


The Nashville Predators currently have seven prospects who have yet to sign an NHL contract since they were drafted.

2011
2 #38 Magnus Hellberg (G)

2 #52 Miikka Salomäki (LW/RW)

4 #112 Garrett Noonan (D)

5 #142 Simon Karlsson (D)

6 #170 Chase Balisy (F)

7 #202 Brent Andrews (LW)


2010
5 #126 Patrick Cehlin (LW/RW)

7 #194 David Elsner (F)


2009
2 #41 Zach Budish (RW)

4 #110 Nick Oliver (LW/C)

7 #192 Cam Reid (C)


Any of these players “could” in theory be signed, but only two need to be signed prior to June 1st. Failure to do so would mean that the team would be relinquishing the rights to that prospect. Those two prospects are Patrick Cehlin and David Elsner.

Cehlin (Jul 27, 91) is described as an excellent skater with good technical skills. Somewhat on the small side (5’11” 178). He made an impression during the world juniors a couple years ago and has been toiling his skills with Djurgarden in Sweden’s Elitserien league finishing last season with 10G 4A in 48 games.


Dobber’s 2010 Prospect Guide had the following insert on Cehlin:

Quick, who was the highest-scoring 2010-eligible forward in the SEL? Although plenty of Swedes have been bandied about as potential first rounders, 5'11, 172 lbs Cehlin has somehow escaped mentioned. Tops among 17/18 year-olds in goals (five) and points (11) in Elitserien play, Cehlin was something of a surprise after netting 'just' six points in nine J20 games. Further compounding the player's invisibility was a marked absence from every major international tournament. A July-born forward, Cehlin is surprisingly strong on his skates for a player of his height and weight, working the tough areas of the offensive zone in order to draw defenders to him. Like Henrik Zetterberg, Cehlin holds his skill in reserve while battling for pucks, only to bust out a laser wrist shot or seeing-eye pass when the opportunity presents itself.

Potential: Top-six forward, 25-35-60+

My take is he’ll be signed before June 1st and will be in Milwaukee next season. It will take some time to adjust to the North American rinks and speed to the game. Current ETA to Nashville 14/15.


David Elsner (Mar 22, 92) was a 7th round under the radar project pick. He is described by Hockey Futures as an agitator, but one with power forward potential. He has good size (6’ 183), plays with a mean streak, and checks very hard. This, coupled with a heavy shot, leads one to believe he could eventually be a power forward, so long as he can reel in the mental aspect of his game and not lose control.

Playing last season in his first season in North America, Elsner produced 7 G, 7A, 12 PIM in 48 games for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Their GM Kyle Dubas described him as “a power forward who can also finish. He's been playing against men for the last two years," Dubas said of Elsner, who is expected to challenge for a spot among the Hounds top six forwards. "He's been a point-per-game player against players his own age, but has been an elite agitator and power forward at the professional level."

My take he’ll be signed before June 1st and will be back in the OHL next season for an overage season. Current ETA to Nashville 15/16.

[uofmehockey]

First of all, I’d like to thank Gates for the opportunity to join the Black Aces and cover Nashville. I had been considering stepping out and doing this for some time, but the timing was simply not right before. While I don’t consider myself a huge Nashville Predator fan, I am a fan of the team and a big fan of the sport of hockey. My favorite NHL teams are the Boston Bruins and whoever is playing Montreal. Just kidding, kinda.

Just a little background on myself, I currently live in Massachusetts but I am actually born and raised in Lewiston, Maine, the home of the now defunct Lewiston Maniacs or going even further back, Maine Nordiques. And yes I actually did see them play, so I’ve been around for a while. I attended the University of Maine where I developed a fondness for some of the best college hockey around, Maine Black Bear hockey.

I started playing fantasy sports before it was considered cool. It was away to connect to the sports and teams I loved while serving away from home in the US Army for 20 years. The bottom line for me was that I can thank Paul Kariya, Adam Oates and Mike Modano in assisting me to win numerous leagues year after year. The only problem occurred because there was simply not enough challenge in the process. I simply wanted more. That quest eventually brought me to Dobber Hockey and to the ZFHL, a 30 team Dynasty full keeper league with 30+ prospects. Needless to say, I’ve been hooked ever since. I now have three 30-team leagues of which two are pretty much built and should only need “retooling”. The other league is a long term rebuild which will not require constant attention. Thus, I need a new focus. While I do not currently consider myself a full fledged Nashville Predator expert (yet), I am looking forward to the process and sharing what I learn along the way.