Luke Evangelista to Represent Nashville Predators at NHLPA Rookie Showcase
Evangelista will join Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, and 32 other NHL prospects at in Virginia on September 5.
Luke Evangelista to Represent Nashville Predators at NHLPA Rookie ShowcaseForward Luke Evangelista has been invited to represent the Nashville Predators in the 13th annual National Hockey League Players' Association Rookie Showcase on September 5 in Arlington, Virginia. Evangelista is one of 35 NHL prospects who will participate in the showcase being held at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. The event is co-hosted by Upper Deck. Upper Deck, the official trading card company of the NHL and NHLPA, will use the showcase as an opportunity to collect photographs for upcoming NHL rookie materials.
Evangelista will be joined by plenty of other young talent. Connor Bedard, the 2023 number one draft pick overall, is scheduled to attend along with top ten picks Leo Carlsson, Adam Fantilli, and David Reinbacher. Although Evangelista played 24 games for the Predators in the 2022-23 season, he is still technically a rookie in the NHL because he played less than 25 games during the season.
Evangelista played 49 regular season games for the Milwaukee Admirals in 2022-23 and was called up to make his NHL debut on February 28 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. While Evangelista didn't score in his first NHL outing, he did make quite a splash with a hard hit that launched Evgeni Malkin behind the Penguins' net. Evangelista scored his first NHL point with an assist on a Matt Duchene goal March 2 against the Florida Panthers. The 21-year-old's first two NHL goals came just a few days later on March 6 against the Vancouver Canucks.
After the Predators were eliminated from the postseason, Evangelista returned to Milwaukee and played 16 postseason games with the Admirals, helping the team make it all the way to the Conference Finals for the Calder Cup before losing to Coachella Valley in game seven. During that 16 game postseason run for the Admirals, Evangelista scored four goals and 15 points. It was a standout year for the young forward who was supposed to be a call up for just the weekend in Nashville. His performance in the NHL impressed David Poile, Barry Trotz, and then-head coach John Hynes so much that he finished the NHL season in Music City playing every remaining regular season game for the Predators.