Sometimes too much dross has accumulated and there is no other option left but to change the scenery.
Nashville, he thought, had translated Eeli Tolvanen with each card and stated in November that it was better to transfer the player to the so-called waiver list.
From there, any team could pick up Tolvanen for free within 24 hours, or his journey would continue to the farm.
There was no resale value due to the declining profit situation, so the transfer list was the only option – and not completely unfounded. Tolvanen had improved, but at the same time, 135 matches in the country town had yielded only 25 hits.
Seattle put their faith in Tolvase and nabbed the berth on December 12th.
The Finnish gambler wasn’t allowed into real action until the first day of 2023 and immediately hit the ground running: Tolvanen scored a goal in his first match and three points in the first three games.
Was Nashville in a hurry after all?
– I’ll be fine if he breaks through in Seattle. We may have made a mistake when we thought we had already tried him in many different places and situations. We really hoped he would go through waivers, farm and soon back up, GM of Nashville David Poile stated on a local radio station in the second week of January.
Tolvanen has since given Nashville’s club management more to think about.
After being released, Tolvanen has scored 10 goals in 22 matches, becoming one of the top 20 goal scorers of the calendar year. On Monday, Tolvanen was his team’s best scorer in 2023. Only the Finns are ahead Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen.
Sports expert Ismo Lehkonen ponders the causes and consequences behind the sensational takeoff.
Shot
You can’t talk about Eeli Tolvane without talking about his shot. It’s not like With Aleksandr Ovetshkni or Patrik Lainea, but it is heavy and accurate. In Nashville, Tolvanen didn’t really reach or adapt to a role where he could have used his strength, but in Seattle the situation has been different.
Superiority responsibility is at the center of success. Tolvanen can bring an exceptional launch threat to the power play, and this threat has already materialized a few times during the early season. If the feed enters the cylinder, the shot goes out fast and hard.
When in the fall in Nashville, Tolvanen shot less than seven times per hour he played, now the number hovers around ten. An important consideration is also related to the fact that Tolvanen has been able to create shooting positions and space for himself, as the goal against Boston showed.
– The superiority responsibility is important to him already because that way he gets more touches on the puck, gets to operate with it and otherwise shoots more. His shot has always been technically good. He makes the puck go fast and heavy. When the line opens even a little, the shot goes off immediately, Lehkonen praises.
Workload
Going behind an exceptional shot would still be wrong for Tolva. The player from Vihtälä hasn’t scored ten goals in January-February by chance – and not while waiting for tasty assists. The merciless work ethic of Tolvanen and his chain friends creates a strong foundation for a new future.
Tolvanen didn’t really slow down in Nashville either, but now there is a real predator operating in the rink, who is ready to go into every gap and steal every loose puck. The Detroit match at the weekend was Tolvase’s latest absolutely great example of quality play even without the puck.
Tolvanen has made several hits from the immediate vicinity of the goal, for example from loose pucks.
– Siberia teaches, Lehkonen begins.
– Eeli has realized that with a smaller size, he has to hunt constantly. I believe that coming from Europe, the NHL game was quite a dish towel for him. However, he hasn’t given up at any point and now he catches every loose puck and has realized that he has to move like hell all the time. Stop and go and all in, says Lehkonen.
Team and chain friends
Of course, the team and chain friends have their own importance to the whole. Seattle is the right club for Tolvane right now, as there are no superstars or big egos in the youthful expansion team. The same applies to the chain Oliver Björkstrand–Yanni Gourde-Eeli Tolvanen.
– In that chain, everyone does a little bit of everything, and that suits Eel well. Sometimes Eeli drives to the finish line, sometimes we switch places and someone else drives. There are three quite similar players, whose joint play works well, Lehkonen states.
The chain’s biggest weapon is a hard work ethic. Even the occasional long rotations of the offensive zone are built through repeated possessions, shots and the subsequent follow-up plays. A trio of exploits turns the game around quickly.
After an excellent start, the question is whether Tolvanen’s new arrival will be a temporary fluke or a lasting breakthrough as a player in the NHL’s revenue unit. The amount of work and determination emanating from the body language do not indicate a quick congealment.
– Why wouldn’t this be a breakthrough? He has reached a good state and certainly does not want to give up his place. He seems to have realized that when he plays like this, it is necessary, and then there is no need for a place to play. He constantly puts himself into a single exchange in a great way and no one can question him then, says Lehkonen.
– But you mustn’t panic even for a moment.