Young Phil Tomasino has been a healthy scratch, but head coach Andrew Brunette still believes in Tomasino's talent.
The Nashville Predators advertised a youth movement as the team underwent big changes at the trade deadline and in the offseason, and one player expected to benefit from that new focus was young Phil Tomasino. After playing 76 games in 2021-22, Tomasino surprisingly started the 2022-23 season in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals before joining Nashville in mid February as veterans went out of the lineup with injuries. He finished the season with the Predators scoring five goals and 18 points in 31 NHL games.
Tomasino made the team out of camp under new head coach Andrew Brunette in September, but in the last two games the 22-year-old has been a healthy scratch for the Predators. Brunette addressed Tomasino's status after practice on Monday, and we discussed Brunette's assessment and Tomasino's future on today's Locked On Predators podcast.
While it may be disappointing not to see Tomasino in the lineup right now with other young players like Juuso Pärssinen and Luke Evangelista, Brunette believes Tomasino will be back on the ice with the team as he makes a few adjustments to his game.
