From the Archive: Waiting for Radulov

New general manager Barry Trotz took over the reins of the Predators franchise as the team began a "reset" that was going to focus on developing young talent. The signing of free agent veterans like Ryan O'Reilly, Gus Nyquist, and Luke Schenn made some in Smashville question just how committed Trotz was to kicking off the team's youth movement. 

How the Predators deal with the development of young talent has been consistent from the beginning especially when it comes to Barry Trotz's philosophy which hasn't changed much since he was the head coach playing a young forward named Alexander Radulov. 

The same questions swirled around Radulov and his ice time that has been whispered about young players like Luke Evangelista and Phil Tomasino in recent seasons in Nashville. Shouldn't future potential stars get big minutes to develop quickly? That's not often been the route Barry Trotz has taken if he could help it. 

In the December 26, 2006 issue of The Hockey News, John Glennon shared Barry Trotz's philosophy and reasoning behind a slow simmer for young Radulov early in that season. 

Yes, Alexander Radulov is that good. But so are the rest of the Predators.

He scored a goal on his first NHL shot.

He scored a goal in eight of his first 16 NHL games.

His .421 shooting percentage is one plenty of NBA players would covet.

And his background? The stuff of which legends are made. He notched 152 points in 62 games in junior last season, put together a 50-game point streak and led Quebec to the Memorial Cup.

So why is Predators rookie right winger Alexander Radulov seeing an average of just 9:33 ice time per game, a figure that ranks him above only fourth-liners Jordin Tootoo and Darcy Hordichuk among Nashville regulars?

Is ‘The Man’ – specifically Predators coach Barry Trotz – really keeping Radulov down?

Hardly.

While it might appear at first glance the Predators are nuts for not giving Radulov the kind of ice time rookies such as Los Angeles’ Anze Kopitar, Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin or Colorado’s Paul Stastny are getting, the team actually has plenty of good reasons to bring its prized phenom along slowly.

For starters, the Predators are already stacked with skilled wingers on the team’s top two lines.

There’s Paul Kariya, who’s coming off a 31-goal season; Steve Sullivan, who’s coming off a 31-goal season; Martin Erat, who has posted 26 points in 28 games and is well on his way to a career season; and J-P Dumont, who’s notched 20 goals or more in four of the past five seasons.

Who exactly would you yank out of that group?

While Dumont (18 points in 29 games) might soon be looking over his shoulder due to a recent offensive drought, you still have to assume – based on his track record – that he’ll snap back into form.

“It’s easy to say, ‘Play Radulov 15 minutes a game,’ but that means a guy like Kariya or Erat or Sullivan or Dumont is playing less,” Trotz said. “Who’s coming off? There’s always a cause and effect, and it would take ice time away from your big producers.”

A similar situation holds true on special teams, which make up so much of today’s game.

Though Radulov will eventually become a power play performer, he’s currently caught in a logjam behind plenty of man advantage veterans, such as the forwards already named, as well as Scott Hartnell and David Legwand.

Third, Radulov, like all offense-minded players who make the jump from junior to the NHL, is still working on his all-round game. He makes the occasional risky pass and takes the occasional chance that backfires.

“He’s not terrible defensively, so it’s not a big issue,” Trotz said. “It’s just improving his reads defensively and through the neutral zone. But he’s such a sponge about learning that he’ll get better.”

Maybe the biggest reason the Preds aren’t rolling out Radulov more often, however, is the team simply isn’t desperate for him.

Nashville was scoring plenty of goals and rattling off plenty of wins prior to Radulov’s injury-related recall from the minors. So the Predators aren’t in the same situation as, say, the Penguins, who are playing Malkin more than 20 minutes per game and fellow rookie Jordan Staal almost 14 minutes per contest.

How is Radulov dealing with his comparatively limited opportunities? Very well.

In fact, the 20-year-old Russian remains irrepressibly energetic, whether he’s playing six or 12 minutes per contest.

“I can’t control the ice time, so when they let me, I just go on the ice and do my best,” Radulov said. “If I get a chance, I try to score or if I get a chance to make a play, I try to make a play. If there’s no play, I try to be safe.

“If I play like this, then they will let me play more.”

Of that, there can be little doubt.

One got the sense Radulov would be special Oct. 26, when he beat San Jose goalie Vesa Toskala with a wrist shot that handcuffed the keeper to his stick side. It was Radulov’s second NHL game, his first NHL shot.

Only a few weeks later, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound sniper embarked upon a six-game point streak, one that included three game-winning goals.

He celebrated each score in nearly the same frenetic fashion, pumping his left fist and screaming with joy.

Surprisingly enough, Radulov was tied for second on the Predators in goals (eight) through 29 games, ahead of players such as Dumont, Erat, Kariya and Legwand, despite the fact Radulov had played in just 16 contests and seen such limited time.

Maybe even more impressive: Those eight goals had come on just 19 shots.

So just when will the Predators start pumping up Radulov’s ice time? It may happen later this season, when his all-round game starts to match his offensive skills.

It may happen next season, if potential unrestricted free agents such as Kariya and or Hartnell decide to sign elsewhere.

But it will happen. All in due time.