Preds select 17-year-old winger Kevin Fiala in first round
New Predators coach Peter Laviolette has made it clear that he wants his team to become for formidable on the offense end after finishing in the bottom half of the league in scoring last season.
To help bolster the future ranks, the Predators aimed for scoring in the NHL Draft as well, selecting Swiss teenager Kevin Fiala with the No. 11 overall pick on Friday night. The 17-year-old Fiala, a 5-foot-10 right winger, last played in Sweden's under-20 league, scoring 11 points in 17 games.
Entering the draft, he was rated as the third-best international player by NHL's Central Scouting Bureau.
Playing as the youngest member of Team Switzerland, Fiala has also represented his country at the World Championships, World Junior Championships and the Under-18 World Championships with varying degrees of success. He's considered a score-first winger that will need to develop in other areas of the game.
According to the Eliteprospects.com scouting report: "Kevin Fiali is an offensive forward with game-breaking potential. He is a respectable and shifty skater with quick legs and explosive acceleration. Fiala owns a slick skill-set with soft hands, good stickhandling and brilliant puck-control ... has a wealthy arsenal of shooting tools which, combined with his creativity and finishing abilities, makes him the player you turn to if you need a goal."
Sounds like just the type of scorer that could help Laviolette in a few seasons.
