Preds News & Notes - Forsberg, Saros, Kemell Bring Summer Sizzle

It may be the offseason, but there's still plenty going on in Smashville. In case you missed any of the latest news, here are some highlights from the past few weeks:

Nashville to Host 2023 NHL Awards and Draft

Perhaps the biggest news of the month is
last week's announcement
that the 2023 NHL Awards and the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft™ will both take place in the City of Nashville in June. This will be the first time both events have been held in the same city since 2006, when they were held in Vancouver. Smashville shone in the hockey spotlight with the 2022 Stadium Series, and next year's events promise to be
just as exciting and impactful
for the Music City.

Preds' Goaltending is 'Elite'

Nashville's goaltending tandem of Juuse Saros and Kevin Lankinen received high marks from TSN's Travis Yost, who placed the Predators in the top tier of his
NHL goaltending depth grades
. From Yost: "Saros has been in the league for six seasons now, and not once has he conceded more goals than expected, based on shot volumes and the quality of shots faced. That's the mark of an elite goalie."
Joining Nashville in the "Elite" Tier 1 are the Islanders, Jets, Lightning and Rangers - a group that has produced three of the last four Vezina Trophy winners dating back to 2019.

Preds Prospect Shines at World Juniors

Joakim Kemell, Nashville's first-round pick (17th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft, helped lead Finland to a silver medal in this month's 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton. Kemell finished with a team-high 12 points (4G, 8A), also the second-most among all skaters in the tournament.The winger scored four goals - including the goal to send the gold-medal game against Canada to overtime - en route to recording the most points in a single World Junior Championship by a Predators draft pick in the tournament's history.

Kemell assigned to Finnish Liiga's JYP

Speaking of Kemell, Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile
announced Monday that the team assigned the 18-year-old forward
to the Finnish Liiga's JYP. Kemell, who signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Nashville in July, made his Liiga debut at age 17 last year. In his first full professional season with JYP in 2021-22, Kemell led all Liiga rookies with 15 goals.

A Smashville Family Affair

Earlier this month, Preds forward Matt Duchene

that he and his wife, Ashley, are welcoming their third child this December. A few weeks prior, newly-extended winger Filip Forsberg married country music artist Erin Alvey at her family's French estate; the couple then

.

Forsberg Ranks Among the League's Best

Speaking of Forsberg, the 28-year-old winger was recently ranked No. 19 in
NHL Network's Top 20 Wings in the League
right now. One of the NHL's most dynamic forwards in the last decade, Forsberg became the Predators all-time leading goal scorer (220) when he had 84 points (42 goals, 42 assists) in 69 games last season. CBS Sports called Forsberg's eight-year, $8.5 million contract extension one of the league's biggest
"game-changing moves"
this offseason.

Bally Sports+ is Coming

Sinclair Broadcast Group announced on August 17 that it will roll out
Bally Sports
, its direct-to-consumer streaming service, to all its markets nationwide on September 26 - just in time for hockey season. After the service was soft-launched in five regions in June, last week's announcement means that it will be expanded to the remaining 15 Bally Sports regional sports network brands (RSNs). This is good news for Preds fans living in the Bally Sports South region, who will have a new option to watch their favorite team starting this fall.