Eeli Tolvanen continues to shine in Seattle
Eeli Tolvanen has had an incredible first month with the Seattle Kraken. He played his first game with the NHL's newest franchise on January 1st, scoring a goal and winning the hearts of the Kraken fans. He continued to see success, playing alongside Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde on a nightly basis. By the morning […]
Eeli Tolvanen has had an incredible first month with the Seattle Kraken. He played his first game with the NHL's newest franchise on January 1st, scoring a goal and winning the hearts of the Kraken fans. He continued to see success, playing alongside Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde on a nightly basis. By the morning of January 10th, he'd managed to score three goals in 5 games–that's when David Poile commented, on a local radio show, that he may have made a mistake by waiving the Finnish forward.
These statements resonated with a large swath of Predators fans who felt Tolvanen had not been used properly in the Predators lineup. This season had seen Tolvanen relegated to a defensive, 4th line spot, playing with line mates not known for their offensive prowess. Even worse, fans were upset that Tolvanen was let go for nothing, with Poile adding that they had hoped he would clear waivers. Without rehashing the article listed above, folks were mad.
Since then, Tolvanen has continued to shine. At the All-Star Break, he has played 15 games with his new team, scoring 8 goals and 2 assists. While 8 goals may not seem remarkable, this feat, accomplished in just 15 games, would put Tolvanen on pace for 43 goals in a full season of 82 games. Even more, Tolvanen has scored more goals in January than anyone on his former team. And, even with just his 8 goals with the Kraken, Tolvanen would sit 6th in goals for the Predators. For a team that's needed scoring, it seems like they let a scorer go…for nothing.
Poile readily admitted that he would be willing to accept the blame if he turned out to be wrong about Tolvanen. 15 games is a small sample size and it may be too early to tell. Tolvanen is currently carrying a very high shooting percentage (22.9), comparable to last season's performances from Matt Duchene and Filip Forsberg. Both of those forwards are experiencing regression this season. It's quite rare to maintain that type of production from season to season. But, the early returns don't look too good for David Poile as the Seattle Kraken continue to reap the benefits of taking a chance on a very young forward that was written off by the general manager that drafted him.
–featured image via Steven Bisig/USA TODAY Sports–
