Sports
Eeli's Coming: Predators Prospect Tolvanen Flying Stateside
Finnish phenom Eeli Tolvanen, the Predators top draft pick, has parted ways with his KHL team and is heading to North America.
NASHVILLE, TN -- Eeli's coming and the cards say a looming start.
Eeli Tolvanen, the Nashville Predators first-round pick in the 2017 draft, and his Finnish professional team, Jokerit, which plays in the Russian KHL, have mutually agreed to terminate the 18-year-old forward's contract, freeing him to join the Preds in time for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Here he is wearing a silly hat in a tweet announcing his departure from the Helsinki team:
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#Jokerit and @eeli1999 have mutually agreed to terminate the player’s contract. What a season for the boy wonder! We thank Eeli for his fantastic performances and wish him the best of luck in future games! #KHL pic.twitter.com/VDLuZwGeEJ
— Jokerit Helsinki (@Jokerit_EN) March 26, 2018
Tolvanen, who played junior hockey in the United States Hockey League, was considered by many prognosticators to be an early first-round pick due to his slick hands and penchant for silky goals, but, for whatever reason, slipped to 30th in the draft. So unprepared were the Predators for that eventuality that the team did not have a temporary nameplate prepared to stick on the jersey the phenom slipped on after his selection.
Whatever doubts there were that caused his tumble were answered during his season in the KHL, largely considered the second-best league in the world. The teenager had 19 goals and 36 points for Jokerit, both records for an under-19 player in KHL history and was named to the league's All-Star game. He scored six goals in Jokerit's 11 playoff games and nine point in five games for Finland in the Winter Olympics.
Find out what's happening in Nashvillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Predators general manager David Poile and Tolvanen's agent have said the ultimate goal was for the forward to sign his three-year entry-level contract with Nashville at the end of Jokerit's season, which concluded Saturday with a Game 6 loss to CSKA.
A Jokerit spokesperson told The Tennessean Tolvanen will fly to North America Wednesday.
The addition of Tolvanen will add to what is already the deepest group of forwards in team history and comes as the Predators work through a slump, the team's worst stretch in months, as they've earned just one point in the last three games.
The Predators announced Sunday they'd have an update on Tolvanen before Tuesday night's home game against the Minnesota Wild.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
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