The powerful Nashville Predators will become even stronger with the addition of high-scoring forward Eeli Tolvanen, who completed his Kontinental Hockey League season Saturday.
A clause in Tolvanen’s KHL contract allows him to leave after one season with Jokerit. He is free to sign with the Predators and is expected to join the team shortly.
Tolvanen, the 30th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, scored 19 goals and 17 assists in 49 KHL games this season. He also scored nine points in five games for Finland at the Winter Olympics.
“He’s the youngest player in the league and is breaking rookie scoring records,” Predators general manager David Poile told the Tennessean back in February. “So that’s pretty, pretty good for his first year. Now he’s playing in the Olympics, on their first line and power play. So for 18 years old, that’s probably exceeding expectations.”
More recently, Poile had this to say to radio station 104.5-FM: “You’re asking a lot of a young player to come in and play at this time of year . . . However it turns out, if and when we get him over here, it’s going to be great experience for him, more depth for us.”
Tolvanen can play up to nine games for the Predators this spring without burning the first year of his NHL contract. He is expected to sign a three-year, entry-level deal.
While that contract clock is certainly a consideration for how coach Peter Laviolette would use Tolvanen, the Predators are in “win now” mode. They are rolling toward a top seed in the Western Conference playoff bracket and they recently enjoyed a 15-game points streak.
LATE-SEASON ROSTER ADDITIONS
Look for other NHL teams to add prospects for the closing days of the season, too. As junior hockey teams and U.S. college teams wrap up play, more players will become eligible to make the leap.
The Minnesota Wild eagerly await the arrival of bulldozing power forward Jordan Greenway of Boston University. Like Tolvanen, he turned heads while playing against European veterans at the Winter Olympics.
The injury-depleted St. Louis Blues could use Providence College forward Erik Foley, Northeastern forward Nolan Stevens and possibly Ontario Hockey League stars Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas as well.
