The season is underway and the Predators already added enough new faces (and new numbers) to confuse even the most dedication of fans. However, two players made their debuts for Nashville on Saturday night in the shoot out loss to Ottawa and I’ve taken an interest in both. Forward Vitali Pinchuk and Defender Jayden Struble now have two games in gold under their respective belts and I’d look to take a closer look at both.
Vitali Pinchuk
Pinchuk came to the Predators in the offseason in as outgoing General Manager Barry Trotz signed him away from the KHL. The Belarusian forward was coming off a solid run for Dinamo Minsk. Last season saw him elected to the All-Star game for the third time and producing 31 goals and 35 points.
In his debut against Ottawa, he showed an early flash of his playmaking skill as he set up Ross Colton for his first goal of the season a nifty little pass from in front of the net. With only around 11 minute of ice time, there weren’t a ton of opportunities to see him on the attack, especially consider the 6 penalties against the Predators.
Last night’s game against Vegas saw him with another example of great positioning on the first power play almost led to his first goal. (I am aware about “almost” not counting, just saying). The other thing I’ll point out, and I find it a little troubling, is that he was on the ice for two goals against. And, while I wouldn’t normally automatically point the finger at someone for simply being on the ice for goals against, a center has a very specific role to play when the puck heads back the other way. I simply wasn’t seeing the tenacity on backcheck I’d expect to see at the NHL level. With such a small sample size, I can chalk this up to the transition from the KHL to NHL and hope that it improves.
Jayden Struble
Struble was a much more recent addition the team coming in a trade with Montreal on Friday night. I was in line at Bridgestone waiting to buy Weezer merch when the trade came through. Coming with the price tag of Vegas’s 2nd round pick in the 2027 draft, there was some initial complaining about the cost. Struble had 174 NHL games when he came to the Predators with 7 goals and 28 points. Based on those numbers, I can understand the initial sticker shock.
However, it’s important to note that for a team that’s lacking defense, offensive numbers aren’t the key metric to use when evaluating a player. I felt like his defensive prowess was in display against Ottawa. He had 6 hits, 2 blocked shots, and a takeaway to giveaway ration of 2:1. Of note, the other 5 defenders shared 6 hits between them. He also looked good at denying zone entry at the blue line.
In last night’s game against Vegas, Struble looked strong and physical, clearing the crease in front of Saros toward the end of the first when the Golden Knights got a little too close. I’ll go ahead and remind everyone that I’ma big fan of a good crease clear. And, at the end of the day, Struble was brought in to be defensive. It’s also worth noting that Nashville went 11F 7D for the Vegas game, so defensive minute were spread around a bit more than normal and partners shifted throughout the game. Overall, in what turned out to be a pretty rough game for the Predators and being on the ice for two goals against, I can’t pin either of them on Struble. Defensively, another solid outing, not as much excitement as his first game.
Overall, for both players, I’m excited to see how they continue to evolve in their roles on this team.
-lead photo c/o Nashville Predators-