Nashville Predators Filip Forsberg Approaching Elite
The Nashville Predators rising star may have the best years of hockey directly in front of him.
The Nashville Predators have long been considered the stomping ground of high-end defensive talent, boasting a system that has turned out a litany of impact names still playing good minutes across the NHL like Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, and Roman Josi. But never have they holstered a truly top-tier forward from rookie season into the prime of a career.
Filip Forsberg looks to change that. Two full seasons into his Nashville tenure has already seen the Swedish Sniper tying the franchise record for goals (33) while topping the 60 point mark and leading the team in points for both campaigns.
Last season the then-21-year-old winger was the youngest player (by a couple years) to make an appearance in the league’s Top 10 in goal scoring, while also receiving his first nomination as a bonafide NHL All-Star. More importantly, he appears primed for a string of similar successes.
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A glance around some league stat keeping will show that your typical NHL forward will develop into his abilities around 22-24 years of age (though the great thing about the sport is the variance of these numbers), and Forsberg only just celebrated his 22nd birthday on August 13th.
What else did he celebrate this past summer? Oh yeah, signing a 6-year contract extension with the Nashville Predators. Meaning the wicked wrister is all set to reach its maximum potential flashing in gold.
This comes as a relief and at an interesting time, as former Nashville Predator draft pick and high-scoring-high-hope-turned-dream-crusher Alexander Radulov makes a long speculated return to the NHL. Thankfully, the presence of Forsberg has helped ease the pain of that ugly thorn in the side of Nashville’s faithful.
Forsberg and his success have gone hand-in-hand with the arrival of head coach Peter Laviolette in Smashville, helping to turn the coach’s system into an effective reality and leading a young pack of rising forwards. If the Nashville Predators front office can manage to re-sign 24-year-old star center Ryan Johansen within the coming year, Smashville may have an elite-scoring duo sparking the offense for years to come.
Filip Forsberg was acquired from the Washington Capitols via trade for former Nashville Predator draft pick and 10-year-veteran Martin Erat, who hit his prime with a 58-point-season in 2011. The trade will go down as one of the greatest moments in Nashville Predators history.
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