Eeli Tolvanen was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Kraken this last season after spending the first part of his career with the Nashville Predators. Tolvanen was drafted 30th overall in 2017 by the Predators before they put him on waivers toward the end of this last season.
“There were definitely some good parts of my time in Nashville, we had a good group of guys,” Tolvanen said.
Tolvanen talked about how the toughest part was probably being on a bottom-six line and playing 10 minutes a night. He said it’s tough because you want to play more and be the guy that the coach can put in every situation.
“The transition to Seattle, it was kind of easy for me,” Tolvanen said.
He explained how everyone was really good to him with being the new player coming in and giving him a lot of help.
“Our line, we clicked right away from the first game and I feel like that was the biggest part by the way once I got my first game I felt comfortable on the ice and I felt comfortable around the guys,” Tolvanen said.
Once Tolvanen arrived in Seattle, he put up 16 goals and 11 assists for 27 points in 48 games. He credited the success to his linemates Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde.
“My first goal in my first game, I feel like that was probably the biggest thing, getting on the scoresheet right away and the confidence back right away, I think that was probably the biggest part, just getting on the scoresheet and playing a really good first game,” Tolvanen said. “After that, it was kind of after that our line rolled really well, we played some really good hockey, so it was kind of easy for me to step up when I already played with two really good players and they make my game easy and that’s why we probably were successful as a line and as a team as well.”
Going into Seattle, Tolvanen didn’t really have any specific goals. He just wanted to go out there and be the guy that the coach can trust to put on the ice.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re down a goal or up a goal, so I think that was my main goal and I think I did a pretty good job with that, playing some of my best hockey I’ve probably ever played,” Tolvanen said. “It was nice to play with the same guys the whole year and not change lines after every game, so I think just getting the chemistry with those guys.”
Tolvanen said that his main goal was just to help the team win as many games as possible. After the first round of the playoffs, where they dispatched the Colorado Avalanche in seven games, he felt that they had a chance to make a deep run. Ultimately the Kraken came up short in game seven of the second round against the Dallas Stars. However, Tolvanen sees that loss to Dallas as a big motivation for going into next season.
“Everybody has the same hunger, we can and we want to succeed and go further into the playoffs,” Tolvanen said.
While Tolvanen hasn’t set any personal goals for next season yet, he said he just wants to play a similar style of hockey as he did this last season after joining Seattle. He also hopes to have a spot on the same line and play with the same guys.
“I feel like the whole team, we’re hungry for next year, we showed that if we can just play well and play as a team we can go far and I think the main goal is to go farther than we did this year,” Tolvanen said.
One defining moment for Tolvanen this last season was when the Kraken played a two-game set in Nashville. In the second game, Tolvanen scored twice as the Kraken poured it on in a 7-2 victory.
“Of course it was really nice, I think that was emotionally for myself a big game,” Tolvanen said. “Of course you want to go back and show that they made a mistake putting me on waivers, but looking back it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me, going to Seattle and getting the opportunity there. But it was special going back there, I spent there four or five years, I have some really good friends there, so it was nice to play against those guys, to enjoy going back. There are a lot of familiar faces around the city so that was big, it’s always nice going back there, when you played somewhere you always want to play well and succeed over there and I think that was my thoughts going back to Nashville, I wanted to play some really good hockey.”
When it came to what was most exciting for Tolvanen with the Kraken, he touched on being able to play with the Kraken in their first-ever playoff series.
“Just seeing all the fans, all the city come together, special playoff roar for the whole city and how loud the building was the whole playoffs,” Tolvanen said.
It’s clear that Tolvanen had no trouble settling in with the new group and enjoying his new home city. From the energy the fans brought every night to the weather and the scenery, he talked about how easy it is to go anywhere and how there are a lot of things going on.
“So I think that’s the big thing, going back next year, that’s something for sure I’m going to see a lot of different things, it’s a nice city to play in,” Tolvanen said.
He said that they ended on a really good note and that he’s very excited to go back and get back to work with all of the guys.
“So, I think that’s probably the best part about it,” Tolvanen said. “We had a good run this year, everybody’s coming back, we’re going to be hungry and get to work, getting back at it with the guys. We had a really tight group of guys and so it’s really nice to go back and see those guys and just play some good hockey.”
It’s clear that they have a great group of guys that he enjoys playing with and just being around in general and that they all the same common goal when it comes to getting on the ice.
“Everybody wants to play up and win the Stanley Cup like Vegas did this year, coming in as a new franchise and making the playoffs last year, just getting to experience that in Seattle,” Tolvanen said.”
Northwest Sports Desk 