What a difference a year made in the development of Patric Hornqvist

October 9, 11:10 PMNashville Predators ExaminerJim Diamond

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When the Nashville Predators selected Patric Hornqvist with the 230th overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, it did not bring a whole lot of fanfare. After all, there were only 230 picks in that draft. Since 1969, of the 41 players selected with the final pick of the draft, only eight had managed to play an NHL game.

As Hornqvist matured, he started putting up some impressive numbers with Djurgarden of the Swedish Elite League. In the 2006-07 season, he scored 23 goals in 49 games. The 23 goals broke former Predator Peter Forsberg’s record for goals by a junior player in the Swedish Elite League. That level of production earned him Rookie of the Year Honors that season. Hornqvist scored 18 goals in 53 games in 2007-08, and then came to North America at the start of last season’s training camp.

With a paucity of goal-scoring forwards in the Predators system, there were high expectations placed on the shoulders of the 5’11” 186-pound native of Sollentuna, Sweden. Hornqvist showed enough in training camp to make the Predators roster at the start of the season, but he struggled from the outset of the season and after scoring just two goals in his first 15 games in the NHL, he was sent down to the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League. He was recalled to Nashville on two separate occasions, but did not record a point in 13 games played as a result of those call-ups.

“The game over here, we call it a small-ice game, where over in Europe, it is a large-ice game where everything happens a little slower,” Predators head coach Barry Trotz said.

European hockey rinks are approximately 13 feet wider than those found in North America.

Trotz went on to add:

“Over there, there is a little more puck possession and a little more time to react. Skill players are able to do things at a certain pace. Over here, everything is a little more straight-forward. You’ve got to do it at a lot quicker pace. He struggled with that a little bit last year.”

This season, Hornqvist came to camp better prepared to not only make the Nashville roster out of camp, but to become an impact player on a team that still needs players to put the puck in the net. He put up good numbers in the preseason, and through the first two games of the regular season has two goals and two assists in two games played, tying him with Jason Arnott for the team lead in goals and points.

“This year, when he came over, everything wasn’t new to him,” Trotz said. “He made the necessary adjustments both mentally and physically.”

Due to an injury to J.P. Dumont, Hornqvist was elevated to the team’s top line, and he has not disappointed thus far. His center on the team’s top triumvirate has noticed the dramatic change between this year and last. 

“He is night and day from last year, way more confident,” Arnott said. “Last year, I think he was a little too tentative. He wanted to shoot everything from everywhere instead of playing his game. Now he is playing his game, and things are going well.”

Predator defenseman Ryan Suter echoed the captain’s assessment.

“I think confidence for him is a big thing,” Suter said. “When you are up and down it is tough to get on a roll, but now he has his confidence and he is going to continue to produce.”

When asked about Hornqvist’s transformation, goaltender Dan Ellis had a very detailed and thoughtful response.

“Any sport, any professional sport, confidence is the number one thing. Hornqvist had a lot of pressure put on him to come in here and be a top-line guy as a rookie. It takes a lot to adjust to the North American game. Yes, he put up some great numbers in Sweden, but we were in a position where we were forced to put him in that role. It was tough on him, but he went to the minors and played great.

“He’s come out flying, and I think that he has really learned from last year and he looks great. Hornqvist is a very proud person. When he doesn’t do well, sometimes he is his own worst enemy. He really beats himself up. He takes a lot of pride in doing well and helping the team. He has simplified his game, and I think that the coaches have simplified it by starting him on the third line, taking some of that offensive pressure off of him. Through that, he has been able to flourish, and when a guy like Dumont goes down, he steps in and gets big goals for us.”