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THN Archive: Looking The Part
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Looking The Part—Dec 1, 2023 - VOL. 77, Issue. 07 - Carol Schram
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SARTORIALLY, TANNERMolendyk should breeze through the adjustment from the WHL to the NHL.
Both his Saskatoon Blades and the Nashville Predators , who drafted him 24th overall in June, share a color scheme of blue, gold and white on their uniforms. So don't blink, lest you mistake an image or video of him shutting down elite scorers as a leader on one of the WHL's best bluelines with the footage of him accepting his first pro jersey in June or making his NHL pre-season debut less than three months later.
It was a split-squad day for the Predators and Florida Panthers on Sept. 25. Molendyk found himself in Sunrise with the assignment of defending a star-studded group of Stanley Cup finalists, including Matthew Tkachuk , Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett. "I walked in the room, and I didn't know what to expect," Molendyk said. "I had no idea who they're going to play. I looked at the lineup sheet, and I saw those names. I started shaking a little bit."
Once the initial shock wore off, the 18-year-old embraced the moment and put his skills to the test – with positive results. "I thought I did good," he said. "I thought I played my game. I kept guys to the outside, and I was up in the rush a bunch."
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Molendyk's toolbox includes sublime skating, impressive edgework and natural athleticism, all traits that helped him rank high in multiple tests at the scouting combine. He feels his game is unique, but he also readily shares his admiration for Shea Theodore 's play. "I like the way he can break pucks out, and he's evasive," he said. "And he can move, too."
Back in bantam, Molendyk picked up a valuable tip from coach Erin Thornton at Yale Hockey Academy – but he's not telling. "I'm not going to spit it out, but that has always helped me," Molendyk said. "I find, taking on anyone, there's no real way to beat me. I think it's just being more aware of what's going on and your surroundings, not just focusing on one guy."
In April, when NHL Central Scouting released its final rankings for the 2023 draft class – which some expect to eventually go down as one of the best – Molendyk had climbed to No. 28 among North American skaters. It didn't hurt that the rankings came out just after the Blades overcame a 2-0 series deficit to take out Connor Bedard 's Regina Pats in seven games in the first round of the WHL playoffs. They then lost the first three games of their second-round series with Red Deer before stunning the Rebels in another seven-gamer.
On draft day, Molendyk rose even further. At No. 24, the kid from McBride, B.C., a village of less than a thousand people located on the Yellowhead Highway not far from Jasper, Alta., was welcomed to the stage at Bridgestone Arena in front of a partisan hometown crowd by Predators franchise legends Roman Josi and Pekka Rinne .
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Three days later, the Preds' development camp kicked off. Molendyk settled in with a familiar crew that included WHL defense prospects Luke Prokop and Graham Sward, spring and summer hockey buddy Matthew Wood from Vancouver Island, and a pair of teammates from the victorious Team White at the 2023 Top Prospects Game: Red Deer rival Kalan Lind and Dylan MacKinnon from the Halifax Mooseheads.
On the ice, the Predators instructed Molendyk to focus on taking his offensive game to the next level after he put up nine goals and 37 points for Saskatoon in his draft year. This season, with 2023 WHL coach of the year Brennan Sonne at the helm, Molendyk has been a key contributor at both ends of the ice as the Blades established themselves among the top contenders in the WHL's Eastern Conference.
On the final day of Nashville's development camp, just eight days after he was drafted, Molendyk put pen to paper on his entry-level contract – a perfect coda to wrap up an unforgettable first visit to Music City, which included an Independence Day celebration. "I don't even have words, still, how electric that city is," Molendyk said. "Walking down there during development camp when it was July 4 was nuts. It was crazy. I've never seen anything like it."
Soon enough, he could be seeing much more.
