Game Day: Three Questions with On The Forecheck

[NOTE: All credit is due to our fearless leader, Laura; I'm merely the messenger boy. -CCR]

Seth Jones. I realize that is a name, not a question, but what's your opinion on him - will he live up to the hype?

It's hard for any player to live up to the hype surrounding Seth Jones these days, and I think we especially need to keep that in mind during his rookie season. It's a huge jump from junior to the NHL, so I would caution Preds fans to tap the brakes a bit. Looking at this team long-term, however, you have to be impressed at the quality and depth of the defense.

This one kind of piggybacks off of Jones - do you as a fanbase and the Preds as a team still feel the impact of losing Ryan Suter, or has everyone put that behind them? I know he got a mighty booing when the Wild came to Nashville. Was it deserved?

Most Preds fans feel betrayed by Suter, although I'm not one of them. To me he always seemed like a guy who was going to hit the open market, and I didn't expect him to return. His loss is still deeply felt, because even though Roman Josi is developing well, the Suter/Weber pairing was the top blueline combo in the league, the equivalent of having Crosby & Malkin or Datsyuk & Zetterberg on the ice together.

Finally, who do you think your scoring will come from this year? I have a feeling that both of our teams will have that question hanging over their heads all season long. Who will the Preds rely on?

Well, Viktor Stalberg was supposed to be the shiny new toy up front, but he's on the shelf for a few weeks. Colin Wilson led the way last season, but that was fed in large part by some hot shooting which I don't expect to repeat, so the answer is really that we'll probably see 5-6 guys anywhere from 35-50 points "leading" the way for the Preds, including names like Patric Hornqvist and Mike Fisher. You can certainly count on Weber to part of that group, and perhaps Josi as well if he takes another step forward this season.

Thanks to Dirk for taking the time to answer those questions. If you want to get even more ready for tonight's opener, pay them a visit at On The Forecheck.