Today at training camp, the Nashville Predators welcomed Samuel Fagemo, we got a sneak peek at some potential forward lines, and Andrew Brunette shared what he is watching for in this final week of training camp.
One week from today, the Nashville Predators' final roster will take the ice in Tampa Bay for the first regular season game of 2023-24. In the meantime, head coach Andrew Brunette spent time this morning working with the team at Centennial Sportsplex.
Samuel Fagemo
There was a new face on the ice today as Samuel Fagemo participated in his first practice as a Predater after being picked up off waivers yesterday. Fagemo was drafted by the LA Kings 50th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. He has played 13 NHL games for the Kings and 56 games in 2022-23 for the Ontario Reign in which he scored 23 goals and 32 points.
Andrew Brunette when asked what his first impressions were of Samuel Fagemo:
"It's hard in just one practice and we did a lot of different things today. It was really hard to get a great look at him. But you can see he can really shoot the puck and he can skate. Looking forward to getting to know a little bit better at this point."
Forward Lines
Much of today's practice was run with specific lines working together, and the top line consisted of Filip Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly, and Juuso Pärssinen. Pärssinen spent the early part of training camp listed as day-to-day due to a lower body injury, but returned to play in the last two preseason games. Pärssinen looked very good in practice today scoring a handful of goals during drills.
Here are the forward lines through much of practice today:
Forsberg O'Reilly Pärssinen
Gurianov Glass Nyquist
Tomasino Novak Evangelista
Smith Sissons Trenin
Sherwood Jankowski McCarron
Brunette on what he is looking for in this last week of practice:
I'm kind of looking for chemistry. I'm just trying to see what fits with who and can they develop any or not. And then obviously, the little details, little things, the habits that I think are important — the details in the structure. A little bit of our system is a little loose right now, so I think we're trying to pick that up."
What's Next?
The team returns to Centennial Sportsplex tomorrow for practice and then Thursday night the team welcomes the Carolina Hurricanes to Bridgestone Arena for the final home preseason game. Friday the Predators travel to Carolina to play the Canes for the last preaseason game of 2023. The Predators will kick off the regular season on Tuesday, October 10 at 4:30 pm CT against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena.