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Friday, September 18, 1998
Predators take team on road for exhibition season
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Nashville Predators, the NHL's newest team, are spreading hockey gospel through the South.None of the Predators' nine NHL pre-season games will be held at their new home, the glitzy Nashville Arena, where the sabre-toothed tiger logo at centre ice has barely been scraped.
Instead, the Predators will play their games in places such as Huntsville, Ala., Pensacola, Fla., and Little Rock, Ark., before heading to NHL cities Dallas and Washington.
"They're promoting the game in other markets, and I think it's good for the league," said Predators centre Darren Turcotte.
It's not that fans closest to the Predators won't get to see their team. The Predators will practice against the Florida Panthers on Saturday in Nashville before busing 160 kilometres south to Huntsville for their first exhibition that night.
Their first game in Nashville will be Oct. 10, when they open the regular season against the Panthers.
"The players have sat down and thought about it, but what their plan is is to make that first home game as big an event as possible and get everybody hyped up for that," Turcotte said.
Considering how sloppy exhibition play can be, Turcotte said the decision may not be a bad one.
"They don't want to turn any fans off," he said.
The Predators, who spent last season scouting players, must figure out which 24 players will make their first roster. David Legwand, the No. 2 pick in the entry draft, got his first action Wednesday during practice, but isn't expected to see much time in the NHL this season.
Mike Dunham, expected to be the Predators' main goalie, hasn't seen much ice time due to a sore groin originally injured at the end of last season. The tags remain on one pair of his gloves in his locker, and he isn't due to play in either of the Predators' exhibitions this weekend.