"I've been really excited," Granlund said following Thursday's practice. "I just got here a week ago, and now I'm able to be with the team again. I know the team, and I know the guys here and everything, so it's easy to come back and I'm really excited to be with the team."
The Predators don't anticipate Granlund needing much time to become reacclimated with the organization either. Hynes said earlier in the week the team had been sending Granlund video of their meetings and other materials to help with the systematic teachings of how the Predators want to play. From a physical standpoint, Granlund had already been preparing during the offseason, and as a veteran player, he knows what's necessary to be ready for game action.
"The system is the same, and obviously that's one of the nice parts here for just when I'm jumping in, you know what you're supposed to do from last season," Granlund said. "That's going to make it easy, just to get to the rhythm and getting in all those battles and those little things on the ice. That's the biggest thing to get used to, but we've been playing hockey all our lives, so it shouldn't be too bad of an adjustment. [I'm] just really excited to get out there."
Where exactly Granlund will fit in the lineup remains to be seen, but depth at the forward position isn't a bad problem to have, and Hynes will look to integrate the Finn back into the mix soon.
"It's nice to have him back," Hynes said of Granlund. "You could see him out there today, and he's just a really good player that comes back into your team. He looks like he's in excellent shape, and he's such a smart player, so he kind of fit right in. It's nice to have him back, and the players were excited to have him back also. So, we'll see; I'll talk to him after today's practice and see how he feels, and we'll skate again probably tomorrow morning, see where he's at and then probably make a decision on when and if he'll play."
