I hoped he would have broken through by now.
Yeah, he already seemed to have broken through the previous season, so in Nashville we were a little taken aback when he seemed to regress last season. He looked so good the year before, we were predicting much bigger and better things for him. Although even coach Brunette acknowledged they didn't really put him in the right positions to succeed in the lineup before they ultimately sent him back down to the AHL.
Parssinen to me should still be a center. He does lack ideal footspeed, but I think he makes up for it well enough in other ways, and shields the puck well and sees his linemates well. As a winger last season I thought it took him out of his comfort zone, away from his strengths as a player. But I don't think the Preds really have room for him at center right now, so he'll probably end up having to adjust? We thought that last year the veteran forwards (Forsberg, O'Reilly, Nyquist) might be spread around a little more to help shelter the younger forwards, which might have given Parssinen more opportunity to play center. But instead they all played together on a line, and it didn't really work out to have Parssinen centering other young players. I guess it could be an option for him to play with Marchessault or Stamkos, but Novak and Sissons will also be in the mix, while McCarron is the likely 4th line center. So Parssinen might have a tough time again getting time up the middle.
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