The Nashville Predators have a talented prospect in Zachary L’Heureux who is ready to push for a spot on the team this season. His mindset going into training camp after a strong rookie season in the AHL is “showing up with something to prove, nothing to lose.”
While there are a handful of prospects fighting for limited spots on the Predators in training camp, L’Heureux may have an edge with how he plays the game. The 21-year-old winger produced 19 goals and 48 points in 66 games and plays with an edge. What may prove to work to his advantage is his ability to play center as well since Nashville is lacking in that department.
A number of the forward spots are locked down already, but with Cody Glass and Egor Afanasyev being traded this summer as well as Philip Tomasino yet to sign a contract, there is more opportunity that has opened up.
I wouldn’t be shocked one bit if L’Heureux proves that he deserves a spot in the bottom-6 out of camp and beats out the likes of Mark Jankowski, Juuso Parssinen, or Cole Smith. I expect the latter to sit out some of the games as a healthy scratch, but still make the team out of camp. If all three aforementioned players are on the Predators’ opening night roster, that still leaves two spots to round out the forward group to 14.
L’Heureux is on a fast-track to the NHL and could already be a helpful piece to the puzzle. He states that the NHL has been the goal his whole life and that “I think I have a good opportunity ahead of me and a good chance to show that I can play there. Right now I’m just focusing on that opportunity coming ahead.”
Related: Top Centers Are Tough to Come By, So Nashville Predators Have to Develop Well
It was a shorter summer for L’Heureux and he stressed that he’s looking back on how he played and what happened last season to learn from it moving into an important 2024-25 season. The prospect said that “I am more ready than ever to show up here and show what I can do.”
As an organization, the Predators very much want their prospects to succeed and make the roster decisions difficult. It wouldn’t be a shock to see the determined L’Heureux impress at training camp and play the majority of the season in Nashville.
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