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The annual pre-season doubleheader is today as the Nashville Predators travel to Florida to take on the Panthers in back-to-back games at BB&T Center. Preds PR released the rosters for the games last night, the World Cup participants are not part of the lineups, also not on the rosters, Ryan Ellis and PK Subban, both out with upper-body injuries, both to be re-evaluated tomorrow… so let’s take a look at the possibilities for today’s games.
Game one (2:37pm CDT puck drop) will feature six players that saw time in Nashville and four more who saw time in the NHL with other teams last season. Marek Mazanec may see time in net as he and Jonas Gunnarsson are listed as netminders for the early game.
Defensively, it’s a brand new blueline as None of the six dmen listed played in Nashville last season. W Smashville will get their first taste of Yannick Weber, Matt Carle and Matt Irwin… all depth defensemen signed over the summer. Weber and Carle are the two of the more familiar names to Pred Nation. Matt Carle had that breakout playoff run with the Sharks a few seasons back after his college career. The Alaska native may be a steal of a pickup if he can regain the form he has shown over his career. Of the other three blueliners rostered for game one, I will be listening for Jonathan-Ismael Diaby. The 6’5” 223 pounder split time between Milwaukee and Cincinnati last season and is getting to the decision point as a prospect… if he is really going to be a contender for Nashville’s future D corps, he will need to show it.
At forward for game one, regulars James Neal, Calle Jarnkrok, and Mike Ribeiro are in the lineup along with Cody Bass. The prospects to watch? Max Gortz, Felix Girard and Kevin Fiala… all three made significant contributions in Milwaukee, all three have shown some pretty solid development. Fiala is the one that most will be focusing on… for good reason. The 20 year old has shown some real progress in his development, especially from a maturity standpoint. The quicker he grows up, the better it will be for Nashville. You can never have too much firepower.
Game two is slated for a 6:07pm (CDT) faceoff and the roster is deeper with NHL players, eleven from last year’s Preds including Juuse Saros who should see some time along with Mark Visentin in net. Saros is looking to prove that he should be the backup this season, Mazanec has the edge here, but Saros is being given a serious look.
On the blueline, Anthony Bitetto and Petter Granberg are the grizzled vets, the rest of the D Corps spent last season in Juniors. Bitetto and Granberg will be fighting it out for a spot on this year’s roster so this will be a critical game for the two of them and their performance will be closely watched.
At forward, the regulars playing are Craig Smith, Colin Wilson, Viktor Arvidsson, and Ryan Johansen. Other who spent time in Nashville last season have some to prove, including Austin Watson and Colton Sissons. The prospect to watch in this game is Vladislav Kamenev. The 6’2” Russian has observers getting excited about his potential and he may be closer to a roster spot than first thought.
It all gets going today… first preseason game action… complete coverage of the doubleheader begins at 2pm CDT on 102.5 the Game, the Voice of the Predators Pete Weber will be on the call and the Coach, Brent Peterson will be on color.
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Random Notes
- Countdown to hockey… 4 days to Preds first home preseason game… 8 days to the season premiere of SlapShot Radio… 17 days to Predators season opener.
- Twelve games today in preseason action, only one doubleheader and plenty of split squad games.
- Today’s World Cup of Hockey schedule – Game One of the best of three final is tonight. Team Canada vs. Team Europe... coverage on ESPN
SSR’s season nine premier is Wednesday October 5th on 102.5 the Game. SlapShot Radio is the longest running hockey show in the mid-south and Pete Weber and I can’t wait to get it started again. SlapShot Radio has been delivering great hockey talk to the most energetic and engaged fans in radio and advertising with us drives results. Our premier sponsors include day one sponsor Dr. Jane Bacon at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry … make your appointment at (615) 872-7762, and Mark Lonsway at ReMax Fine Homes, call him for all your real estate needs at (615) 207-7799.
Advertisers… reach out to me for preseason specials in order to access our activated listener base via email at paul(@)slapshotradio(dot)com
You can also keep up with all the goings on with SlapShot Radio by following the show on Twitter @SlapShotRadio1 … Also... make sure to "like" SlapShot Radio on Facebook... here's the link.
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