Roman Josi has done this a few times - 15 to be exact, with No. 16 on the way.
But no matter how many times the Predators captain begins a new NHL season, the excitement, the anticipation, the aura of Opening Night never ceases.
Those butterflies will be present once more Thursday when the Preds host the Minnesota Wild at Bridgestone to begin season No. 28 in Nashville franchise history.
And even though the greatest Swiss-born player in NHL history knows what to expect in a setting such as this in his adopted city, there’s still nothing quite like it.
“It’s amazing,” Josi said following the penultimate practice ahead of Opening Night. “The energy, it’s just great. The players are excited, the fans are excited, everybody's kind of waiting for that first game.”
The inaugural contest of a new campaign - one that will see every NHL team skate in 84 regular-season outings this time around - is more than just a date on the calendar.
It can set the tone for what a team is capable of, show what they can accomplish or reveal where there’s still work to be done. And for this edition of the Predators, starting strong is paramount.
That much was made clear at the start of training camp two weeks ago. Yes, every team wants to win their opener - or at least bank a few points in the early going - but the Preds know they simply cannot afford another start like they’ve had in recent seasons.
“It’s another level, and it’ll be another level Thursday night,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said of the intensity at this time of the year. “[Obviously], Carolina came in ready to go [during our final preseason game], and we were dipping our toe in a little bit, and we can't afford that luxury. Just from game to game to the start of the regular season, we’ve got to throttle down here right away. And I think we've prepared ourselves to do that. We're just going to execute that.”
“The last couple years we just haven't had [a good start],” Preds defenseman Brady Skjei said. “We kind of dug ourselves a hole and couldn't climb out of it. We were just too far behind. So, we want to be playing in the playoffs, and we need to have a good start, and then just build off that throughout the year. We can't dig ourselves a hole again.”
The hope in the Nashville locker room is that the established core, combined with a slew of new faces, can accomplish just that.
Predators President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chris MacFarland did plenty to shake up the roster in his first few months on the job, and newcomers like Mavrik Bourque, Jack Drury, Ross Colton, Nils Hoglander, Alex Kerfoot and Adam Edstrom all figure to be in the lineup on Thursday.
Despite a short training camp, the Preds have been pleased with how the group has merged in the early going, and a strong start could go a long way in forging that bond even further.
“You look at the quality of players that were brought in here, they’re guys that have been around for a little bit,” Preds forward Steven Stamkos said. “They kind of fit the mold of what we're looking for in terms of guys that can play both sides of the puck and guys that have won before, or come close to winning. They know what that feeling's like, and we’re excited about it.”
"I just think it feels like a family,” Colton said of his new club. “I feel like from day one...everyone's made me and my wife feel super welcome. We've done a ton of stuff as a team, which I personally love that. It just makes us feel important and part of this group. I feel like in organizations in the past, we didn't do a lot of stuff as a team. So again, for me, that's super important. It makes me feel comfortable, and it makes me want to go to battle for these guys even more when you feel like you're a tight-knit group like that. So, I've loved it from day one. These guys have been awesome, and I just want to go out there and prove that. I want to be a part of this and keep building something special."
Of course, there’s only so much that can be said about a game or a team before it actually happens. From that perspective, the Preds are very much ready for the real thing, especially against a Minnesota team that is not only a Central Division rival, but in the conversation for a championship run.
“[We need to] get to our identity from the puck drop,” Brunette said. “We talked about the throttle down, we talked about our start, but talk is kind of cheap. We’ve got to go do it here a little bit, and it's going to start against a really good team…that's really hungry and thinks of themselves as Stanley cup contenders. We’ve got to be ready to go.”
After the Wild visit on Thursday, it won’t get any easier for the Preds when the Dallas Stars - who also carry the same descriptors - come to town on Saturday.
But the Preds certainly don’t mind the challenge, especially in their own barn.
“It’s great - two big division games right off the bat to start, Thursday and Saturday in Nashville, it probably can't get much better than that,” winger Filip Forsberg said.
A couple of wins would do the trick, and Josi’s sentiment is prevalent across the roster as the Preds complete their final preparations for what’s to come.
There’s nothing quite like the promise of Opening Night - and we don’t have to wait much longer.
“There’s a couple games throughout the season, that first game in the regular season, that first game of playoffs, those are the games you wait for for a long time,” Josi said. “The energy is always great, the teams are fired up, it’s always an intense game - it’ll be fun.”
