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After long wait, Austin Watson proving key component to Predators' fourth line
For some, six years can stretch into what can seem like an eternity. For others, it's just a blink of an eye. In Austin Watson's case, it may have been just the right amount of time.
It's been a long road for Watson; one that most may not know runs the gamut of championships through the junior ranks of hockey.
World Junior Championship gold medalist? Check. He helped the United States capture its second straight gold medal at the U18 championships, notching two goals and an assist along the way.
OHL Championship? Yep, he's collected two of those. Watson spent his first year in the OHL with Windsor-- teammates alongside Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis -- as the Spitfires blistered their way through the playoffs, winning the league and taking the Memorial Cup as well. He'd win another OHL championship three years later in 2012 with the London Knights, taking home the prestigious Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the MVP in the OHL playoffs.
Drafted two years prior in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, the Predators saw a player with a steady, workmanlike approach to the defensive side of hockey and one that had the tools to potentially grow into an offensively-capable forward.
"We saw a tall, rangy kid you were hoping would fill out, both in stature and skating," said Predators general manager David Poile.
"You saw a kid that defensively played pretty well. He seemed like he was always that guy that would block shots, that guy with a fearless-type of game. He seemed to have decent hands. Almost everybody with every draft it's a projection from there."
It's quite rare, though, that a player will produce immediately once being drafted into the NHL. In some cases, it may even take a couple hundred games in the AHL. Such has been the case for Watson.
Spending the bulk of his time with the Milwaukee Admirals -- Nashville's AHL affiliate -- over the course of the following three years after his championship season with London in 2012, Watson registered 20 goals in each season with Milwaukee and has played over 220 games to date in the minors.
Outside of a stretch of six games late during the 2012-13 season, Watson was unable to find a permanent place on the Predators roster. He wasn't able to crack the lineup out of training camp neither last season nor this season, a year where he would be subjected to clearing waivers if he were to be sent back down to Milwaukee.
"It's been hard for him to make the transition," noted Poile. "A little bit last year and then this year coming out of training camp. We sent him down. That's not a perfect scenario.
"Last year, we were not so sure and coming out of training camp it's like a 'this could be it' type of thing when you get sent down. He seems to have a pretty good determination and he seems to be really focused. I think he knows, sort of speak, that he's on his last chance to make it with [the Predators] and now he's trying to make the best of his opportunity."
It only took three games and a team-wide bout of food poisoning to bring the Michigan native back to Nashville. Since his recall on Oct. 22nd, Watson has played 24 straight games for the Predators and has notched five points in his last seven games.
"Everybody sees it," Predators head coach Peter Laviolette said, "He's fast, he's physical, and he's generating offense. He's very reliable defensively. He's earning his minutes. He's done a really good job since coming back [from Milwaukee]. He had gone down for a little bit, just a game or two, came back and making the most of his opportunity. He's looked really good."
Watson's been a key component to Nashville's fourth line as of late. Most teams may not look to their final line combination as being one of the most defensively sound lines on the roster, however that's exactly what the Predators have seen as of late.
Going out for tough minutes in the defensive zone against arguably tougher opposition, Watson and the other forwards on his line -- which has largely consisted of an assortment of Calle Jarnkrok, Freddy Gaudreau and, most recently, Colton Sissons -- have been pressuring the play back into the offensive zone, generating chances, forcing pressure and maintaining possession.
Outside of scoring a goal on every shift, I'm not entirely sure what more you can ask for.
"I just have an understanding of what I have to do out there to be successful," said Watson. "I'm trying to, on a nightly basis, bring what I can to the table. I'm trying to produce some offense, being physical, bringing energy and doing that at a level that helps our team win."
With plenty of hockey left this season, the sky's the limit for Watson. He's proving to be one of the tougher players in Nashville's lineup and he's even finding himself earning power play minutes, something that would have been outside the realm of possibility just a season ago.
"I feel like you're proving yourself on a daily basis here," Watson continued. "That's not a bad thing. It keeps you on your toes and you're always trying to give more. You're always trying to prove more to yourself as well."
Has it been frustrating that he hasn't developed quicker? Possibly, but in most cases the path to the NHL is one of many twisting roads. In Watson's case, it was never one to reach the finish line first.
"Our scouting staff, I think, has done a really good job and they can point to a lot of different players and say this guy has exceeded his position or they can point the other way and say this guy didn't," said Poile. "We always talk about we have seven rounds [in the draft] and if you get two players, or 2.2 players if there is such a thing, that's a pretty good draft. They say you're in the Hall of Fame in baseball if you can hit the ball three times out of ten.
It's not a sprint for Austin, now it's a marathon. Now maybe things can stick. Can he play all year long and contribute in a role so that he earns that position, he earns more trust, he earns more ice time and he gets to play a little bit more in some more offensive situations and plays with some different types of players? That's where we are right now. We're going to have to see what the next step is."
The next step for Watson, appropriately, seems to be not letting his foot off the gas of the momentum train he's driving with the Predators now. Being a first-round selection for any team, and more importantly any sport, comes with a lot of pressure and a lot of scrutiny.
Possibly past the most difficult portion of his development, there's much more that Watson can still offer to Nashville, it's just a matter of him staying the course.
"We thought we gave him a fair chance, but he just didn't do enough [in training camp] to beat anyone out. Now, when he got called up, he's just been a little bit better of player, a little bit harder, a little more focused and a little more trustworthy," Poile said. "Sometimes it's a very fine line between a guy making it and not making it. If we hadn't had an opportunity or an injury, maybe he wouldn't have been called up. You never know how the story would go. It's up to him. You got your foot in the door. Don't let anybody close that door on you now."
