Tommy Novak had a middle seat on his flight to Nashville, but the circumstance was well worth the reason for the journey.
Less than 24 hours after Novak recorded three assists in Milwaukee as the Admirals opened their AHL season on Saturday night, the centerman got a call from Preds Assistant General Manager - and Ads GM - Scott Nichol with news every NHL prospect wants to hear.
Originally drafted by the Preds in 2015, the 24-year-old Novak has been recalled to Nashville for the first time, a move that was officially announced Monday morning. An hour later, Novak was on the ice with the Preds as they practiced at Bridgestone Arena, and afterward, the former Minnesota Golden Gopher expressed his enthusiasm with the development.
"It's really exciting," Novak smiled. "Obviously, my first time getting called up, so I'm just trying to play my game and hopefully get a chance. [I just want to] keep it simple and try to play my game."
That "game" allowed Novak to co-lead the AHL's Chicago Wolves in scoring last season with 32 points (8g-24a) in 27 games, his second professional season. In addition to leading Chicago in assists, he was fifth among all AHL skaters in the category and tied for 12th in points. Novak recorded eight multi-point performances and concluded the AHL's regular-season on a 10-game point streak (5g-10a) after spending time with the Predators' taxi squad as well.
"[He has] great offensive instincts, very good on the power play and was one of our top guys in chance generation and offense in preseason," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said of Novak. "We felt when we cut him to go to Milwaukee, he was one of those players that was a really, really hard cut because of the way that he performed, not only in Milwaukee, but also how he performed in training camp. He had gone down, had a great first game, looked good, looked confident and looked strong. He's a left-shot center and a power-play player, so we feel like that was a good switch and will give him a strong opportunity to see what he can do."
Over six years after he first joined the Nashville organization, Novak has become the player the Preds always thought he could be. He's been through a lot in that span, including a four-year career at Minnesota that saw him deal with injuries, but a 42-point rookie season in Milwaukee showed he remained a strong prospect in the system.
Now, Novak is finally ready for that NHL chance.
"It definitely feels like a lifetime ago at the Draft of 2015," Novak said. "There's been a lot of ups and downs throughout the six years it's been, so I just think of a pretty long journey, just trying to get better. I went through some injuries in college, had some good years, had some bad years and just stuck with it. I'm really glad I did, and I've got the opportunity now to be here."
