PRAGUE — Kiefer Sherwood grew up in Columbus, Ohio. He’d never been to Europe before this trip. Never been the first star of an NHL game, either.
But here he was in Prague on Friday, standing before a group of reporters as the first star of the Nashville Predators’ 4-1 win against the San Jose Sharks before 16,648 at the O2 Arena in the 2022 NHL Global Series.
After signing a one-year, $750,000 contract with Nashville as an unrestricted free agent on July 14, the 27-year-old earned the chance to play right wing on a line with left wing. Nino Niederreiter and center Ryan Johansen. He got off to a good start with a goal and an assist.
“Yeah,” Sherwood said. “It’s surreal.”
Sherwood has had to fight for this.
He wasn’t drafted into the NHL. Over the past four seasons, he had 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 87 NHL games — 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 60 games for the Anaheim Ducks from 2018-20, five points (one goal, four assists) in 27 games for the Colorado Avalanche from 2020-22.
When he became an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, he spoke to his brother, Kole, a 25-year-old forward in the Nashville organization.
“There’s a lot of class here, and there’s a lot of good guys here, so I want to be part of that,” Sherwood said. “My brother said some great things about the culture of the organization, so when it kind of opened up, it was like a no-brainer. I wanted to join them and try to contribute.”
Predators coach John Hynes thought Sherwood might fit with Niederreiter, who signed a two-year, $8 million contract July 21, and Johansen, who has been a Nashville mainstay since 2015-16.
Johansen is a big, strong, playmaking center. Niederreiter is big, strong and can make plays, but he hunts pucks and hounds opponents along the wall. Sherwood brings speed and relentlessness.
Sherwood showed what he could do in practices and intrasquad scrimmages early in training camp. At least to start the regular season, he beat out forward Philip Tomasinoa first-round pick (No. 24) in the 2019 NHL Draft, who had 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) in 76 games for the Predators last season.
“His engine doesn’t stop,” Hynes said. “He’s so fast on the forecheck. He can reload and strip pucks. He can close time and space. He’s got a great stick. And from an offensive perspective, he can make plays at high speed. And as you saw tonight, he’s not just a speed player.”
Sherwood scored the first goal of the 2022-23 NHL regular season and his first goal for Nashville on his first shift Friday. He sent the puck to the point, went to the front of the net, won a 50-50 battle and batted in a rebound at 1:01 of the first period for a 1-0 lead.
“I saw it sitting there,” Sherwood said. “I just tried to whack it in quick, and it kind of happened so fast. First shift. I’m happy I got that one.”
Sherwood earned a secondary assist on a goal by Niederreiter at 15:14 of the second period that gave the Predators a 3-1 lead and, according to San Jose coach David Quinn, demoralized the Sharks.
“I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is to have a chip on my shoulder and put my head down,” Sherwood said. “When you play the game the right way and try to work hard, I think good things usually happen. Just to get a chance and an opportunity is something that I’ve just dreamed of. I’ve just got to keep building on this one.”
Sherwood has been consistent for the Predators so far, but he’s only one game into the regular season. He’ll need to continue to be, starting Saturday, when the Predators and Sharks will play here again (2 pm ET; NHLN, NBCSCA, BSSO).
“Sometimes you’re looking for a little bit of a drop off with a new player, but we haven’t seen that,” Hynes said. “As long as he continues to play to his identity, he fits how we want to play.”
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