With 22 points in 18 games to start the season, Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg has been a force to be reckoned with. Nashville has seen a resurgence under new head coach Peter Laviolette, as the team is playing a more up-tempo style with an eye for offence, a departure from the defensive ways of former coach Barry Trotz. On a team that features a top defenceman in Shea Weber and an elite goalie in Pekka Rinne, Forsberg has been stealing the spotlight.
Before his NHL career even started, Forsberg was making headlines. He slipped all the way down to the 11th pick in the 2012 NHL draft before the Washington Capitals scooped him up. Pegged as a top-five pick leading up to the draft, Forsberg watched as Nail Yakupov, Ryan Murray and Alex Galchenyuk went 1-2-3, only to witness defensemen go with seven consecutive picks before hearing his name called. Even to this day, it’s still a little puzzling as to why Forsberg fell so far, but the teams who went with defencemen must have either liked their upside or were desperate to fill an organizational need.
The biggest shocker came when Washington traded him to Nashville for Martin Erat and Michael Latta. The trade is seen as an epic fail on Washington’s part, as Erat’s career absolutely cratered after leaving the Predators. Meanwhile, the Preds, who have lacked a star franchise forward since their inception, appear to have found their man.
On the international stage, Forsberg is no stranger to being second best, as he has five silver medals to one gold in six tournaments for Sweden. It feels as though time and time again, he pours his heart out, only to end up on the losing end, accepting a silver medal with a mixture of grace and heartbreak. Despite this, in the NHL rookie scoring race and with the Predators, Forsberg is second to no one. He is leading in goals, assists, points and plus-minus amongst rookies, and leads the Preds in scoring.
Filip Forsberg is coming into his own as a future star to keep your eye on in the coming years. He plays a big role in Nashville, and no doubt the Predators are smiling knowing they virtually stole him from the Capitals. Nashville has always been a defenseman and goalie factory, but developing that franchise forward has always been an elusive task for the team. David Legwand and Martin Erat played a lot of years for the team and contributed, but they were far from star material. Peter Forsberg was acquired with the hope he would be that guy, but his career was already on the decline, and he didn’t stay long. The same can be said for Paul Kariya, who produced well for the Predators, but lasted only two seasons in Nashvhille. Colin Wilson, who was drafted seventh overall by Nashville in 2008, has been a disappointment.
Nashville has been one of the NHL’s biggest surprises this season with their success, and Forsberg is a big reason for that. No one really knew what to expect from the revamped Predators after a summer that saw them trade for sniper James Neal and sign Mike Ribeiro to a bargain contract as well as see how Rinne would bounce back after a hip infection. But so far, the results under Laviolette have been excellent and Forsberg looks a star. After a few promising years that saw the Preds look like a darkhorse in the West only to lose their way, they are on the right track again and looking to compete for a playoff spot in the very tough Western Conference.
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