Preds 2023-24 Roster Breakdown: Right Wing

Training Camp is just weeks away, and a new season of Preds hockey is right around the corner.

As General Manager Barry Trotz enters his first season at the helm and Head Coach Andrew Brunette enters his first behind the bench, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the 2023-24 Nashville Predators.

The 2023 NHL trade deadline in March created a domino effect for the Preds, setting off a series of roster moves that spilled into the offseason. The result? A team that looks very different than it did this time last year. This year’s training camp will serve as a clean slate of sorts for Trotz and the coaching staff, as well as for the players competing for the substantial number of roster spots that are still very much up for grabs.

Roster construction can be like a game of Tetris, maddeningly complex with a seemingly infinite number of potential moves. Add in the details of contracts and waivers, and the process becomes infinitely more complicated. While no one – no, not even the Predators front office – knows for certain what the rosters for the Predators and their AHL affiliate in Milwaukee will look like on Opening Night, we can begin to break the roster down and examine the options at each position on the ice.

We’re breaking down the Predators roster from the crease out, so let’s move now to the blueline. We have already looked at the key pieces on the left wing, so let’s round things out with the Preds options at right wing in 2023-24:

FORWARDS WHO SKATED IN NHL GAMES IN 2022-23 (RIGHT WING)

Juuso Parssinen

Originally drafted as a center (in the seventh round, no less), Parssinen quickly proved his value in his NHL debut season with Nashville in 2022-23. With an influx of talent down the middle, the Preds may very likely move Parssinen to the wing to keep his scoring touch in the lineup. Even with an injury that sidelined him for a significant portion of the season, Parssinen put up 25 points (6g-19a) in 45 games. He played key minutes in his rookie season, both at 5-on-5 and on the power play. At 6-foot-3, 212 pounds, he fit in well with Nashville's heavy forechecking style of play. Compared with players of a similar age and experience level, Parssinen looks like a man among boys.

Denis Gurianov

Originally drafted by Dallas in the first round (12th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Gurianov has suited up in 280 career NHL games, notching 51 goals and 111 points. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound right wing has also skated in 32 career playoff games, all with Dallas; he helped lead the Stars to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, where he dressed in all 27 games and was second on his team in goals (9) and sixth in points (17). The Preds, who signed Gurianov to a one-year, $850,000 contract this offseason, will hope he can return to form after hitting a rough patch in 2022-23 - split between Dallas and Montreal - and provide some healthy competition at training camp as the forwards battle it out for a spot on the Opening Night roster.

Philip Tomasino

After recording 32 points in 76 NHL games as a rookie in 2021-22, Tomasino didn’t make the Predators roster out of training camp last fall and was assigned to Milwaukee to start the season. After recording 32 points in 38 AHL games, the Preds recalled Tomasino in February in the wake of Filip Forsberg’s injury. Tomasino was ready to answer the call, recording 18 points in 31 games while averaging 15:36 of ice time per game. After last year’s lackluster training camp proved that NHL roster spots are not guaranteed, Tomasino will look to prove at this year’s camp that he is ready for a full-time role.

Cole Smith

Smith, who signed a one-year, $775,000 contract extension with the Preds in February, became a stalwart in Nashville’s bottom-six during his first full NHL season in 2022-23. Relative to his expected role as a big-bodied, fourth-line winger, Smith had an above-average season and finished with four goals and 17 points and 60 penalty minutes in 69 games. As the competition heats up among the forward group at training camp, Smith will look to contribute more offensively and prove that he is more than just a bottom-six bruiser.

Luke Evangelista

Evangelista made his NHL debut on Feb. 28 and, to the pleasant surprise of many, remained in a Preds uniform for the remainder of the 2022-23 season. Evangelista played more than 14 minutes in his NHL debut, notched his first NHL point in his second game, and scored two goals in his fourth outing for the Predators on March 6. The 2020 second-round pick finished the season with 15 points and seven goals in 24 games for Nashville before returning to Milwaukee to lead the Admirals in points (16) and assists (11) in his Calder Cup Playoff debut; he also led all AHL rookies in both categories. His relatively smooth adjustment to the NHL, combined with injuries to several of the Preds key veterans, created significant opportunities for Evangelista last season. This year, however, he will have his work cut out for him at training camp as he competes with his fellow skilled young forwards and healthy veterans for a roster spot.

Michael McCarron

McCarron completed his third season with the Predators in 2022-23, posting four points (2g-2a), 20 blocked shots and 75 hits in 32 games. He won a career-high 59.4 percent of his faceoffs in 2022-23, the best mark on Nashville among those who took at least 100 draws. The 6-foot-6, 232-pound forward signed a one-year, $775,000 contract extension with Nashville in April and will look to use his size and physicality to his advantage as he competes for a spot in the bottom-six.

FORWARD PROSPECTS (RIGHT WING)

Joakim Kemell

Kemell, Nashville’s first-round pick (17th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft, joined the Admirals down the stretch for just 14 regular-season games and 14 postseason contests last campaign and made a significant impact in a relatively short time. After the 19-year-old Finn led both the Admirals and all AHL rookies with eight goals in his first Calder Cup Playoffs, the Preds are eager to see more of his offensive skill in his first full North American professional season.

Zachary L'Heureux

L’Heureux averaged more than a point per game during four years in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, most recently posting 26 points (11g-15a) in 20 playoff games for the Halifax Mooseheads during the 2022-23 season. Selected by Nashville at No. 27 overall in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft, L'Heureux is eager to turn pro in 2023-24. He will compete for a spot on the Predators roster this year at training camp but will likely begin his professional career with Milwaukee.

Anthony Angello

At the start of the 2023 NHL free-agency period, the Preds signed Angello to a two-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 at the NHL level. Angello spent the final 17 games of his 2022-23 regular season with Milwaukee (AHL) after being acquired from St. Louis in March, posting seven goals and 12 points. He went on to record three points (1g-2a) in 16 Calder Cup Playoff games, helping the Admirals reach the Western Conference Final.