Former 1st round pick placed on waivers, likely to be claimed

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Joshua Deeds
December 11, 2022 (2:28 PM)

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The Nashville Predators currently sit 5th in the Central Division with a record of 12-11-3. The Predators are a team stuck in the in-between, not good enough to compete but too good to burn it down. Especially after the Predators committed a lot of money to Filip Forsberg this summer.

The Predators are in need of assets, so losing a player for nothing seems like an odd choice. However, the Predators have made the decision to waive the 2017 30th overall pick, Eeli Tolvanen.

The 1st round draft pick had been a healthy scratch for seven consecutive games before the decision was made to waive the Forward.

The shifty, elusive forward has great hands, excellent offensive instincts, and a terrific wrist shot that should keep him in the NHL for years. He knows how to get into dangerous scoring areas and can play either wing position. Lacks the ideal size for an NHL forward, does not have great top-end speed, and occasionally plays too much on the periphery. However, he should be able to score enough to keep earning ice time.

He has the skill set to make it work in the NHL but seems to have fallen off this season, however, he might need a fresh start to kickstart production again, as in 13 games Tolvanen has only put up 4 points.

Since his regression, Yakov Trenin and Jusso Parssinen have made Tolvanen the odd man out on the squad.

Given the number of injuries this season, teams are always looking for cheap depth wingers and maybe Tolvanen can find a team to utilize him and develop his skills further.