After walking across the 2017 NHL Draft stage in Chicago and sporting a Predators jersey at pick No. 30 in the first round, Tolvanen joined Jokerit of the KHL and proceeded to break essentially every rookie record the league had ever seen. With 19 goals and 36 points in 49 regular-season games - and another six markers in 11 tries in the playoffs - Tolvanen elevated the senses of those across the ocean in Tennessee.
The goal became to ink the rookie to an entry-level contract, which the Predators did on March 29, and see what he could do at the NHL level. Tolvanen dressed in three contests for Nashville toward the end of the regular season, going scoreless with three shots on goal across that span.
Sure, he didn't have fans chanting his name quite yet, but few ever do. Instead, Tolvanen not only got his debut out of the way, he remained with the Predators throughout the postseason, experiencing life in the top League in the world and seeing what it takes to be a professional at this level.
And as far as Preds General Manager David Poile is concerned, that still made Tolvanen's first journey a success.
"Everything went well for what we wanted to accomplish," Poile said. "We signed him, we got him over here, he got to meet all of our players and he got to play in three NHL games… Next year, it'll be our goal and his goal to make our team. It'll be fabulous if he does, and he can because that'll be another upgrade when he does make our team."
The Predators have seen this story play out before. Now mainstays on the Nashville roster, regulars like Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson and Kevin Fiala have all become consistent NHL goal scorers with a bit of grooming. Based on his skillset, there is every reason to believe Tolvanen can and will be mentioned in the same breath as those names in due time.
"It's a big summer for him with regard to his strength and his conditioning and his explosiveness," Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of Tolvanen. "There's no question he can score goals, but this last step, as a lot of young guys have found like Filip, like Viktor Arvidsson, it's not automatic. It takes some time, but certainly there's a talent there that he's able to produce and score goals. I would love nothing more for him than to come in shape and get into training camp, be put in the right positions and really shine and show what he's capable of doing. It would just make our team deeper and stronger."
Tolvanen just concluded his stint with Finland at the World Championship in Denmark. The goal at this time next year will be to have Tolvanen helping the Preds make their way through the Western Conference Final.
It's still important to temper expectations, as it could take a bit of time for those contributions to come, however - or perhaps not.
"For those who say we may have been a goal short this year, maybe by next May he might be the difference," Poile said. "Hopefully he will be there, and we'll give him every chance to be successful next year on our team."
