Dave Hakstol On Eeli Tolvanen: "It Was Evident He Was Hungry"
Dave Hakstol shares his thoughts on former Nashville Predator Eeli Tolvanen.
Settle Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol is in Nashville ahead of the NHL Awards tomorrow where Hakstol is nominated for the Jack Adams Award. Hakstol and the other award nominees addressed the media this afternoon to talk about the 2022-2023 season and the NHL Awards, and Seattle's bench boss shared his thoughts on former Predator Eeli Tolvanen.
"Tolvy became such a big part of our team," Hakstol said.
During his 13 games with Nashville last season, Tolvanen struggled to find consistent minutes and line mates, and Predators head coach John Hynes opted to health scratch Tolvanen for multiple games. The 2017 first round draft pick best known for his offense netted just 2 goals in 13 games with Nashville.
Consistent line mates were a major key to Tolvanen's success once he cracked the roster in Seattle. Hakstol credited the Tolvanen, Yanni Gourde, and Oliver Bjorkstrand combination for driving the Kraken's offense.
"If you look at the Yanni Gourde line with Yanni, Ollie, and Tolvy, that line to a large degree was the driving of our team up front on a very consistent basis," Hakstol said.
Tolvanen found success with those line mates. In his 48 games with the Kraken, Tolvanen scored 16 goals and 27 points. He also contributed three goals and eight points in the Kraken's playoff run.
It wasn't just great line mates that led to his success. Timing and a careful transition also helped Tolvanen settle in. Hakstol wasn't sure what to expect from Tolvanen when Seattle first picked him up off waivers on December 12, and the staff made very intentional decisions before Tovlanen made his debut on January 1.
"I know when he came in he was a little bit of an unknown commodity for our entire staff," Hakstol said. "We knew everything that the outside world knew. We took a couple of weeks. He didn't play. He was a healthy scratch, but with a purpose. He was working. We really wanted to have the right time for him and for our team."
"When he came in, it was evident right away that he was hungry."
What Hakstol saw as the season went on exceeded Tolvanen's reputation as just an offensive player.
"His offense is what everyone focuses on, but he's a really good two way player. He's got a great sense and a 200 foot game. He's willing to do anything - offensively, shot blocking, physically, taking care of pucks on the wall."
Why those pieces of his game didn't come together in Nashville will continue to be a source of debate and frustration. Now all Nashville can do is watch a former first round pick find his game and his confidence under Jack Adams finalist Dave Hakstol in Seattle.