Is it October yet?
Unfortunately, no, but we're here to help pass the time. From Aug. 8 to Sept. 4, The Hockey News Nashville Predators will be counting down 24 players in 24 days, profiling every current or potentially rostered player.
Today's player profile is forward Filip Forsberg.
24 Nashville Predators in 24 days series
As an NHL prospect
Forsberg started his junior hockey career with Leksands Idrottsförening, playing with their HockeyAllsvenskan squad during his draft year, which is Sweden's second-highest professional hockey league.
During the 2011-12 season, he played 43 games with Leksands IF, scoring 17 points. Forsberg also competed for Sweden in both the IIHF U18 World Championship and the World Junior Championship.
At the U18 Worlds, Forsberg was the team captain and scored seven points in six games, and had five points in six games at World Juniors. He won a silver medal at the U18 tournament and a gold medal at World Juniors.
With a good size and strong all-around skills, he was selected 11th overall in the 2012 NHL Draft by the Washington Capitals.
He'd return to Leksands IF on loan due to the NHL lockout, scoring 33 points in 38 games.
Forsberg was traded to the Nashville Predators in April 2013 and played five games with the Predators during the 2012-13 season, scoring a point.
Forsberg captained Sweden at the World Junior Championship that winter, scoring five points in six games and winning a silver medal.
Professional career
Forsberg came to the United States full-time for the 2013-14 season, playing the majority of the season with the Milwaukee Admirals. He had 34 points in 47 games. In Nashville, Forsberg had five points in 13 games.
He also played in his third straight World Junior Championship and was Sweden's captain for a second consecutive year. Forsberg had 12 points in seven games, winning a silver medal.
At the tournament, he earned a number of honors, including WJC All-Star Team, World Junior Best Forward and World Junior MVP.
The following season, Forsberg joined the Predators full-time and his numbers absolutely exploded. He scored 63 points in 82 games, earning Rookie of the Month honors in November 2014. He also earned NHL All-Rookie team honors and was named to the NHL All-Star Game.
In the offseason, he played for Sweden at the IIHF World Championship, scoring nine points in eight games.
In the 2016-17 preseason, Forsberg competed in his first best-on-best international tournament, representing Sweden in the World Cup of Hockey, scoring two points in four games.
Forsberg's success in the NHL and internationally continued to rise. In the Nashville Predators' run to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, Forsberg scored 16 points in 22 games, leading the Predators in scoring during the postseason.
The following season, 2017-18, Forsberg was named a team assistant captain, scoring 64 points in 67 games. He also played for Sweden in the IIHF World Championship, scoring three points in four games and winning a gold medal.
From 2018 to 2023, while Forsberg had not played a full season, he was still putting up high-scoring numbers. During the 2021-22 season, Forsberg played just 69 games but scored 84 points. His 42 goals that season broke the Nashville Predators franchise single-season scoring record.
In the 2023-24 season, Forsberg would score a career-best 94 points in 82 games, highlighted by 48 goals. That number stands as the Predators franchise record for most goals in a season. He also set the franchise record for most multi-goal games in a season.
Unsurprisingly, he was named to the NHL All-Star Game.
The following season, while the Predators struggled, Forsberg still scored 76 points in 82 games and represented Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off and the IIHF World Championship.
He is entering the fourth year of a eight-year, $68 million contract.
What role will he play this season?
This could be another career season for Forsberg.
He has four Predators single-season records, four Predators career records and two Predators playoff records. There are only three names that line the Predators' record books: Forsberg, Roman Josi and Pekka Rinne.
The window is wide open for Forsberg to break his own records over again and continue standing out as one of the elite players in the NHL. However, he needs a good team around him to do that.
Considering he was still able to net 70+ points in a 30-win season, it is very impressive. Imagine what he would've been able to do if the Predators were even just a Wild Card team.
He is the franchise player and is at the height of that right now. It's not about what Forsberg can do for the Predators, but what the team can do for him. What players are going to amplify his game?
You want him to play well, but you also don't want him to have to drag the team along again. He is doing as much as he can, so what will Nashville do to make sure that the pressure is off of him?
Having Ryan O'Reilly, a veteran and consistent center, on Forsberg's line is a great start. Adding Jonathan Marchessault into that mix gives that first line the energy it needs.
Forsberg will also be looking to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Winning that would move him one inch closer to joining the Triple Gold Club: a World Championship, an Olympic gold medal and a Stanley Cup.
Overall, Forsberg is at the prime of his career. The Predators don't want to waste that.