Central Division Preview – 5th Place

In addition to the Red Wing’s player introductions I am doing leading up to the Season, I am going to do a Central Division preview starting with who I feel will finish in 5th place and finishing with a 1st place and 2nd place combined post.

nashville_predators_1999 The 2008-2009 Predators began the season with low expectations. After a slow start, they made a strong push after the All-Star break and even with no movement at the trade deadline, the team found themselves still battling for a playoff spot into the last week of the season. Buoyed by the return of Steve Sullivan after almost two seasons recovering from a back injury, and the great play by the rookie goalie Pekke Rinne, the Predators finished with 88 points, finishing in 5th place in the Central and missing out on the playoffs for the first time since the 2003 – 04 season.

The off-season for the Predators saw little reason to raise their expectations for the upcoming season, mainly because of the lack of activity in the free agent market. The hope of them winning the first Stanley Cup playoff series in franchise history rides mainly on the health of Steve Sullivan and the ability of Pekke Rinne to repeat his fantastic rookie season. The Preds did’t lose a lot of talent during the off-season but they did lose a lot of depth, at both forward and defense.

This upcoming season will see an infusion of young talent into Nashville’s line-up from the minor leagues. The two players that should see quite a bit of increased playing time are Jonathon Blum and Colin Wilson. Blum is coming off of a great season where he was defenseman of the year in Canadian Hockey League and Wilson is a elite prospect from Boston University, he scored 55 points in 47 games and led the Terriors to be the highest scoring team in the Hockey East Conference.

In an increasingly tough Central Division, I can find one upside for the Predators this season; the Liquid Ice Girls. I am picking the Predators to finish in 5th place.

Arrivals: Ben Eaves, C, Espoo Blues (Finland); Ben Guite, RW, Colorado; Peter Olvecky, LW, Minnesota.

Departures: Radek Bonk, C, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (Russia); Vernon Fiddler, C, Phoenix; Ville Koistinen, D, Florida; Drew MacIntyre, G, Atlanta; Scott Nichol, C, San Jose; Jed Ortmeyer, RW, San Jose; Antti Pihlstrom, LW, Farjestads BK Karlstad (Sweden); Greg Zanon, D, Minnesota.

Forwards

#	Name	Height	Weight	Date Of Birth	Age	Birthplace
19	Jason Arnott “C”	6′ 5″	220	Oct 11, 1974	34	Collingwood, ON, CAN
3	Wade Belak	6′ 5″	223	Jul 3, 1976	33	Saskatoon, SK, CAN
71	J.P. Dumont “A”	6′ 1″	219	Apr 1, 1978	31	Montreal, QC, CAN
	Ben Eaves	5′ 8″	174	Mar 27, 1982	27	Minneapolis, MN, USA
10	Martin Erat	6′ 0″	203	Aug 29, 1981	27	Trebic, CZE
	Ben Guite	6′ 1″	211	Jul 17, 1978	31	Montreal, QC, CAN
27	Patric Hornqvist	5′ 11″	186	Jan 1, 1987	22	Sollentuna, SWE
28	Ryan Jones	6′ 1″	206	Jun 14, 1984	25	Chatham, ON, CAN
11	David Legwand	6′ 2″	202	Aug 17, 1980	29	Detroit, MI, USA
	Peter Olvecky	6′ 2″	185	Oct 11, 1985	23	Nove Zamky, SVK
42	Antti Pihlstrom	5′ 11″	190	Oct 22, 1984	24	Vanntaa, FIN
25	Jerred Smithson	6′ 3″	204	Feb 4, 1979	30	Vernon, BC, CAN
26	Steve Sullivan “A”	5′ 9″	173	Jul 6, 1974	35	Timmins, ON, CAN
22	Jordin Tootoo	5′ 9″	200	Feb 2, 1983	26	Churchill, MB, CAN
29	Joel Ward	6′ 1″	220	Dec 2, 1980	28	North York, ON, CAN

Defensemen

#	Name	Height	Weight	Date Of Birth	Age	Birthplace
2	Dan Hamhuis	6′ 1″	203	Dec 13, 1982	26	Smithers, BC, CAN
8	Kevin Klein	6′ 1″	203	Dec 13, 1984	24	Kitchener, ON, CAN
44	Alexander Sulzer	6′ 1″	207	May 30, 1984	25	Kaufbeuren, DEU
20	Ryan Suter	6′ 1″	194	Jan 21, 1985	24	Madison, WI, USA
6	Shea Weber	6′ 4″	230	Aug 14, 1985	24	Sicamous, BC, CAN