Predators' Young Players Navigating Ups and Downs of First Full NHL Season

Brunette knew when he accepted the head coaching job that much of his focus early in his tenure would be developing young players, and part of that involves helping them adapt to the strenuous NHL season. 

Managing the physical challenges of a rigorous NHL schedule takes careful consideration. During a stretch from November 18 - December 12, the Predators played 14 games in 25 days including two back to backs and five road games. Andrew Brunette was mindful of recovery time, opting to cancel some on ice workouts or making them optional so the players could rest and rehydrate. 

"For young players in this league, it's hard," Brunette said. "It's a grind for 82 games."

There are also the mental rigors of being a full time NHL player, especially for young players who experience ups and downs as they adapt to the game at the next level. It's something that Evangelista is learning in his first full season. 

"Mentally, it's just never a straight line especially when you're a young guy trying to develop," Evangelista said. "There's a lot of ups and down."

"It's been good for my mental development for myself, too," he said. "I think over the first half of the season getting used to the league and being mentally strong and working through and trying to find some consistency."

"It's never a straight line. That's been a key thing in the first half year."

Helping players work through those challenging ups and downs is a big part of Brunette's job with a young roster. There is so little room for error at this level, and the ebbs and flows of a season can make it hard for young players to stay on top of their game. 

"If you lose your game a little bit, it's really hard to find it," Brunette said. "That's been a point of emphasis with myself and the young guys that we have, to kind of keep our thumb on them a little bit because they haven't gone through the rigors of trying to find your game when the going gets tough."

"It's expected that there's going to be a dip in every young player. Hopefully we can manage it a little bit because we rely on our young guys," Brunette said.

"We've got pretty much two lines of young players that at times have been really good for us and at times, it's been a challenge to keep them at that level."

Learning how to mentally recharge away from the rink is part of the growing process, and Evangelista has found some things that help him. 

"Just having some down time, some alone time is key," he said. "Also family and friends, calling back home and talking to my parents. My parents come down and visit a lot which is good. I get to see them quite bit."

"When we went to Toronto I went home for dinner, had a home cooked meal," Evangelista said. "Christmas break, seeing everyone again, it just kind of reenergizes you."

The Predators hope to start putting together a string of wins in a challenging January schedule. They won't be able to do that without the young players who have each had moments of ups and downs in the first half of the season. 

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