The 24th pick in the 2023 NHL Draft has avoided all cuts thus far, and looks to avoid the final cut.
By Anthony Pellegrino @Apelle50 IceInsider.com Founder/Owner
BOSTON--To see a 19-year-old defenseman make it out of an NHL training camp only happens ever so often. Yet when they do happen to make it out of training camp, making the opening night roster is a spot not too many rookies find themselves in.
Only two rookie defensemen Kevin Korchinski (CHI) and Simon Nemic (NJ) made opening night rosters, as 19-year-old defensemen last season.
With every day that goes by in the Predators training camp thus far, the chance that prospect Tanner Molendyk makes the opening night roster seems to increase, substantially.
Head Coach Andrew Brunette gave insight into what could happen for Molendyk over the next few days:
"Organizationally, he's a special player. We have to do whats right with him especially at his age. At this level, how are we going to play him, how are we going to utalize him. If he goes to junior, what kind of team is he going to. We're weighing both into what the plan is to do, he's shown he is able to play pretty close to this level."
How he plays tonight in Carolina and Monday in Tampa will help give the organization a clear picture on what to do with the defenseman out of Kamloops, Canada. As Brunette said, they are still weighing into options on what to do with him.
If Brunette along with the rest of the coaching staff believe Molendyk is NHL-ready as soon as this Thursday, for the Predator's home opener against Dallas, they can essentially have a "test run" and let him play up to nine NHL games before being sent back to Kamloops, where he played juniors last season in the WHL.
Juniors-eligible players may still play up to nine games in the NHL at the beginning of a season as a trial. After those nine games, the NHL team can return the player to juniors with no effect on his contract. If a player is kept beyond nine games, his entry-level contract kicks in. If an NHL team keeps a player beyond nine games and later decides to return him to juniors, it can do so, but that still burns his entry-level contract.
Another option Nashville has due to his age is to hold Molendyk until his birthday in February, before sending him to the Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville's AHL affiliate. A rule made by the AHL.
American and Canadian-born players must be 20 years old by Jan. 15th of the current season to be eligible to play in the American Hockey League. So when a player is drafted, they can enter the NHL immediately or return to the amateur ranks. They cannot play in the AHL until they are 20 (or about to turn 20). The age restriction does not apply to players signing an ATO.
General Manager Barry Trotz and Coach Andrew Brunette will also have to decide (if he plays the nine games) who sits out at the beginning of the season, or what guys rotate into a scratched role every few games until Molendyk is sent back to juniors.
The same situation would apply if he's sent to the AHL in February when he turns 20. Do they rotate scratched players on the blueline until then? Or decide to give another Admrials defenseman a chance once Molendyk is sent to the AHL?
There are options on what the Predators can do, and the decision should be made by Thursday on what their plan is for the blueline.
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