Is Luke Evangelista a Lock for Nashville's Starting Lineup?
The 21 year old made his debut last season, but it may be more than his 24 games in Nashville that earn him a spot in the '23 - '24 opening lineup.
Is Luke Evangelista a Lock for Nashville's Starting Lineup?There are plenty of questions surrounding the Nashville Predators this offseason. With a trade deadline sell off, the future of John Hynes as head coach still a question, and thirteen picks in this year's NHL draft, much about the Nashville Predators remains in flux looking ahead to the 2023-2024 season.
Barring lingering issues with late season injuries, Nashville will have Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, and Matt Duchene back in the lineup at the start of next season. It's hard to call anyone else a guarantee with a new GM and plenty of draft capital available to wheel and deal with, but there is one name that fans hope to see on the opening night roster - young forward Luke Evangelista.
After leading the OHL in points in 2021-2022 (62 games played, 55 goals, 56 assists, 111 points) with the London Knights, Evangelista started the 2022-2023 season with the AHL Milwaukee Admirals. The 21 year old returned to Nashville to make his NHL debut on February 28, but staying in a Predators uniform for the remainder of the season wasn't initially the plan when David Poile and Barry Trotz recalled him.
"We expected a guy like Luke Evangelista to come up for a weekend," Trotz shared at the end of the season presser. "I was telling John I think he'd just be here for the weekend and we'd get a guy back and he'd go back down to Milwaukee."
That isn't what happened.
Evangelista played over fourteen minutes in his NHL debut, scored his first NHL point in his second game, and scored two goals in his fourth outing for the Predators on March 6. The 2020 second round pick went on to finish out the season playing 24 games for Nashville and scoring 7 goals and 15 points.
It was only in part Evangelista's fairly smooth adjustment to NHL play that kept him in Nashville. He may not have made it much past that initial weekend if Filip Forsberg had quickly returned to the team after suffering a concussion February 11 in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Predators expected Forsberg back in the lineup shortly after Evangelista was recalled, but the lingering injury kept the veteran Forsberg sidelined through the remainder of the season. Evangelista took advantage of his opportunity and made a definite impression on Barry Trotz.
When asked how a late season push with young players like Evangelista could affect his line up decisions for next season, Trotz replied, "I could have said to you watching Luke - 'He's not a big guy. I think he's gonna need another year in Milwaukee'. Right now, I'm really open to it. It has changed my view."
The 6'0", 183 pound Evangelista will likely work on his strength and physicality this summer as a part of an important offseason, but his chances for a starting job out of the gate next season could be tied to the fate of another player who wowed in Nashville. Tommy Novak's performance was a surprise to many when he was recalled in mid December. His 43 points in 51 NHL games this season certainly caught the eye of fans and, more importantly, Barry Trotz. Novak and Evangelista played together in Milwaukee and the chemistry they built there continued when they reunited in Tennessee. If Novak and Evangelista each have a solid training camp, they are two players who could enhance each other's chances for an October NHL start and two players this resetting team could build around.
Now Evangelista is back with the Admirals and preparing to play in the AHL Western Conference Finals against the Coachella Valley Firebirds. In Milwaukee's series against both the Manitoba Moose and the Texas Stars, Evangelista has continued to make a case for more ice time at the next level. He currently has the third most points among postseason players (4 goals, 9 assists, 13 points) while playing three fewer games. The play that impressed Trotz in Nashville continues with Milwaukee.
Until the NHL Draft wraps up and Predators fans see what moves the new GM will make, it is hard to say for certain what the starting lineup in Nashville will be for the 2023-2024 season. The pivot at the trade deadline opened up significant ice time for the developing players that may not have existed early last season for young Phil Tomasino right out of training camp. Even with the return of healthy veteran forwards, it would be surprising if Luke Evangelista hasn't done enough under these new and changing circumstances to earn a chance to start the season in Nashville.
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