Nashville Predators: Viktor Arvidsson Soaring to New Heights
Nashville Predators have a solid, young winger on their hands.
The Nashville Predators must have known they had got a steal when they selected Viktor Arvidsson in the 4th round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Although not the biggest dog in the fight coming in at 5′ 9″ and 180 pounds, the swift Swede may be on of the hardest working players on the team and his success so far has shown that.
“His work ethic is through the roof,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said in a Tennessean article. P.K. Subban had some good words on Arvidsson as well: “In one shift he’ll fall down 10 times, but he’ll win 10 battles,” Subban said. “When you see a guy like that win every battle, nobody else in here has an excuse to lose one.”
I propose a nickname for Viktor Arvidsson. Firestarter. The man tries ignite the @PredsNHL every shift. pic.twitter.com/wI50pfubQX
— Jim Chandler (@jimchandler1075) November 16, 2016
What exactly did the Preds see in Arvidsson? According to Eliteprospects , Arvidsson was viewed as “A smallish winger with good speed and impressive technical skills. Really noticeable on the ice with his creativity. Has a fine shot and potential to become a high scoring player.” There is one thing that is hard to cover up, however.
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“Lacks ideal size for the National Hockey League game,” says The Hockey News. Sure, who wouldn’t want the 6’2″ 220 (ahem, James Neal) forward. But being undersized isn’t all that bad. Players like Brad Marchand and Martin St. Louis have made their name with their smaller-sized frames and Arvidsson has great potential.
In 56 games with the Predators last season, Arvidsson registered 16 total points (8 goals, 8 assists). Something that really stands out about Arvidsson last year? 3 game winning goals. Arvidsson always seems to be in the fold in making a difference. In case you forgot one his shining moments of last season already, kindly see below.
2. Viktor Arvidsson’s OT game winner was such a beautiful backhand #Preds #SixSnipes pic.twitter.com/u0g4iqgNXG
— Shane O’Donnell (@shane1342o) May 13, 2016
So far in 2016, Arvidsson has tallied 16 points (9 goals, 7 assists) in only 26 games. Not only that, he has a faceoff win percentage of 66.7% – good for 18th in the league. Arvidsson is on pace to total 50 points and sits behind only Ryan Johansen, P.K. Subban, and Mike Ribeiro in team scoring.
Arvidsson’s success this season has been not overly surprising. While he has fantastic success during the regular season, the real test will be how he performs in the playoffs should the Preds make it (they will). Until then – Skål (Cheers)!
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