Arriving for Rookie Camp, Chrona Excited for New Opportunity with Predators

As every fan, player and coach of the game has come to find out, in hockey things can - and often do - change in the blink of an eye.

Weeks away from training camp with the San Jose Sharks, that much became readily apparent for rookie netminder Magnus Chrona, who was dealt to the Nashville Predators in a late offseason trade for 2020 first-round pick Yaroslav Askarov.

Weeks later, Chrona was on the ice at Ford Ice Center Bellevue for the first day of Rookie Camp with his new club.

“I was obviously a little surprised there on that day, but obviously I'm very excited for the opportunity to be here,” Chrona said on Wednesday. “It's a quick turnaround, but it goes quick in hockey. So I’m just excited to be here.”

Fortunately for the young netminder, the new destination likely couldn’t be better.

Minutes after the deal was done, Chrona was on the phone with the Predators revered goaltending department chatting through next steps. On the first day of camp with his new club, Chrona logged valuable facetime with Vezina Trophy winner Pekka Rinne and esteemed goalie coach Ben Vanderklok before spending another half hour after practice chatting with goaltending guru Mitch Korn, Nashville’s former goalie coach and new goaltending director.

“The first thing I noticed about them was their love for the game,” Chrona said. “Everything is about hockey, and it’s always nice to meet new people. That's how you see how big the perspective is and how big the goalie world is. It's kind of hard from the outside, until you meet all these new individuals that all have different perspectives on the game and how it should be played. But it's all fun and games, like you can hear from Pekka who played a long time in two different eras, and Korn who’s coached a lot of great goalies and brought out a lot of great goalies. It's fun even just sitting around with them.”

There is, of course, plenty for the 6-foot-6 netminder to glean from the Predators storied goaltending department, and plenty more room to grow.

Originally selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the fifth round (152nd overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft, the Skellefteå, Sweden, native enjoyed a great deal of success during his four-year collegiate career with the University of Denver, earning back-to-back NCHC regular-season titles and being named the league’s Goaltender of the Year in 2022-23.

In 2023-24, Chrona made the long-awaited jump from college to pro and ultimately logged minutes in all three North American professional leagues. Chrona got his first taste of NHL action in nine games for San Jose last year and pulled out his first career win after a gritty 31-save performance against the Ottawa Senators. Spending the bulk of his 2023-24 campaign with San Jose’s AHL affiliate, the Barracuda, Chrona posted a 6-17-6 record, a 3.49 goals-against average and .894 save percentage in 31 games.

“It was different,” Chrona said of the switch from college to pro. “It's kind of the same, but also not the same. It goes fast in both, but it's a different transition to pro and it happens fast. You don't really have a turnaround table. But I think it was a good first year with a lot of ups and downs, and that's kind of what you get your experience from and how you grow from it.”

Of course, he won’t have to grow alone.

This week and into the fast-approaching 2024-25 campaign, Chrona not only has the resources of the Predators established netminding department at his disposal, but a cadre of talented prospects to lean on as well, from fellow goalies to skilled D-men.

“That excites me at every single level, whether it's the NCAA, AHL or NHL,” Chrona said. “It's always exciting playing with really high-talent players and I think it brings that extra glimpse into what the future can hold. When you're at the college level, you see that you can kind of evolve with [those players] to grow into a professional hockey player, and then when you actually get to the professional level, you can grow together as a group, but also as individuals.”

Chrona will see ice time later this week and into the weekend as the Predators host the Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers prospect squads during the 2024 NHL Rookie Showcase at Ford Ice Center Bellevue.

Nashville’s portion of the showcase schedule includes games against Florida on Sept. 13 (2 p.m. CT), Tampa Bay on Sept. 14 (5 p.m. CT) and Carolina on Sept. 16 (1 p.m. CT). Click here to get tickets and click here to view Nashville’s full showcase roster.

All six of the showcase’s games will be broadcast live on NashvillePredators.com with Willy Daunic, Chris Mason, Hal Gill, Pete Weber, Max Herz and Jay More providing commentary on a rotational basis.