Uncommon path should ease NHL learning curve for Tolvanen
Eighteen year old poised to help Predators in playoffs
The secret was out pretty quickly.
A week before the 2015 playoffs, the United States Hockey League’s Sioux City Musketeers invited prospect Eeli Tolvanen to skate with them to see about signing him for the following season. He stood out among older players on a first-place team.
“This little 15-year-old kid from Finland who was about 5-foot-6 at the time, he came to that practice and you could tell he was an elite playmaker,” now-new York Rangers defenceman Neal Pionk said. “When he was doing that at that age, we could tell almost right away.”
Tolvanen now looks like a Finnish Mozart on ice, a child prodigy who reaches the next level of hockey faster than anyone expects. On the verge of turning 19, Tolvanen for his next masterpiece could be playing a meaningful part in a playoff run for the Nhl-leading Nashville Predators, based on the range of his experiences already.
“His growth just step-by-step happened quicker than most people see,” said Jay Varady, Tolvanen’s coach in Sioux City. “He’s just been successful at a really young age in really tough challenges.”
At 17, Tolvanen led his team and tied for eighth in points in a USHL full of 19- and 20-year-olds, went 30th in the draft last June to Nashville and decided to go home to play professionally for Jokerit in the Kontinental Hockey League. Contract talks with the Predators began on draft day and continued as Tolvanen set the KHL scoring record for an 18-year-old and rarely looked out of his depths.
Unlike when Sioux City got a first impression of Tolvanen and thought it a no-brainer to give up its first-round pick to sign him, Jokerit general manager and Hockey Hall of Famer Jari Kurri wasn’t sure what to expect. Sure, Tolvanen lit up Finnish junior leagues, but this was a different level playing against men.
“Since the first day, everybody was pretty clear that this guy is hardly a kid,” Kurri said. “Everything went smoothly.”
Tolvanen led Finland in scoring at the world juniors twice and tied for second in points among all players at the Olympics as one of the youngest players in the tournament. Before and after the Olympics, he filled up highlight reels in the KHL and impressed Jokerit staff with more than just his shot.
“He’s more like a well-rounded player than many people maybe understand at the moment,” coach Jukka Jalonen said. “He can defend excellent, he’s really physical, he hits hard, he has good vision on the ice. He can pass the puck over and shoot it, and he can play defence. He’s a very sound player.”