When - 10 a.m., Monday, September 18
Where - Hertz Arena; Estero, Florida
How to Watch - The games will be livestreamed on the team's website.
The Carolina Hurricanes have gone 2-0 so far at the Southeast Rookie Showcase with wins over the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning and so they'll look to keep the good times rolling as they take on the Nashville Predators.
The Predators have gone 0-2 at the tournament so they'll be a team hungry to come away with at least one win.
Vasily Ponomarev has led the way for the Hurricanes prospects with three assists so far and strong play in all three zones and on both sides of special teams.
Yaniv Perets has also impressed, turning aside 41 of the 44 shots he's faced, but I expect Jakub Vondras to have the crease this morning since Perets got the full game on Saturday.
For the showcase, I teamed up with the other THN team sites to bring you a bit of info on the opponent's top players and so today, we'll be going over three Nashville Predators players to watch thanks to THN Nashville's Ann Kimmel.
Yaroslav Askarov
One of the top goaltending prospects in the NHL, 20-year-old Askarov played last season with the Milwaukee Admirals splitting starts with Devin Cooley but quickly taking over the starting job. In his 48 regular season games, the Russian goalie earned a .911 save percentage and started 12 postseason games in net helping the Admirals get to the Western Conference Finals.Askarov’s exuberant antics — like laying the net down after a shutout or bench pressing the crossbar after a shootout win— shouldn’t be mistaken for a laid back style of play. The NHL’s highest drafted Russian goaltender is aggressive in net and takes risks that pay off more often than not.
Luke Evangelista
21-year-old Evangelista just barely qualifies as a rookie having played 24 NHL games last season. Intended to be a weekend call up, Evangelista’s playmaking abilities and nearly seamless transition to the NHL pace kept him in Nashville through the end of the season.Evangelista scored seven goals in his 24 NHL games before heading to Milwaukee and scoring four goals and 15 points in 16 AHL postseason games. He will be competing to make the Predators’ roster out of camp and could potentially earn a top six spot with a strong performance at the showcase and in training camp.
Joakim Kemell
Nashville drafted the Finnish winger 17th overall in the 2022 draft, and he is one of the top prospects in the Predators system. After finishing his 2022-23 season in Finland, the 19-year-old joined the Milwaukee Admirals at the end of the regular season. In his 28 regular and postseason AHL games, Kemell scored 14 goals and 23 points. Kemell is a young player who could compete for a roster spot on a resetting Predators team or be an early call up if an opportunity opens up in Nashville during the season.