DENVER, CO - APRIL 22: Austin Watson #51 of the Nashville Predators celebrates scoring a goal against the Colorado Avalanche in Game Six of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Pepsi Center on April 22, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Highly regarded for his physical and defensive play, the Austin Watson showed why the Nashville Predators selected him as a first-round draft pick.

Austin Watson stepped up his game this season with the Nashville Predators. He nearly tripled his career high in goals and also increased his point total all while manning the fourth line. He continued to play with an edge, finishing with seven fighting majors which was tied for fifth in the league. His style of play has evolved in his first few seasons, and with two years left on his contract, you bet he’ll continue to work hard and play with aggression.

A former first-round draft pick, Austin Watson carved out a specific role with the Nashville Predators. Last year, he established himself as somewhat of an enforcer. He’d stick up for teammates and drop gloves with just about anyone. Though only a few seasons removed as the Milwaukee Admirals leading goal scorer, it was a bit of a surprise to see him step up in this role. And as the new season rolled around, some may have wondered which Austin Watson we’d see.

The New Norm

In the second game of the year, he challenged Ryan Reaves to a fight. We knew from the start which Austin Watson we had in store. Over the first three months, he tallied just five points but accumulated a whopping 73 penalty minutes.

As the year went on though, something clicked. He registered two multi-goal games, scored five overall in the month of March, and established a new career high with 14 goals. What’s even better is that four of those were shorthanded. Those are some good numbers for a fourth-line enforcer. If that’s the new norm the Nashville Predators will gladly take it.

Playoffs Watson

It was the Austin Watson show in the opening playoff round against the Colorado Avalanche. He registered a point in every game as the Nashville Predators won the series 4-2. While he didn’t keep up that pace in the Winnipeg series, the same can be said with a number of his teammates. Worth pointing out though, in the playoffs, Watson had a Shots Through Percentage of 61%. The majority of his shots were getting to the net, giving him 11 high-danger chances. That total was 6th on the team and comparable to that of Steven Stamkos and Patrick Laine.

Room to Improve

Part of being a fourth-line guy is limited ice-time and limited chances. While Watson certainly capitalized on some of those chances, there are other areas he can improve on. His overall Corsi percentage was a mere 40%. More goals were scored against the Predators when he was on the ice. This is likely because he is starting in the defensive zone about 70% of the time.

You can’t blame a guy if he’s starting in his own zone more often than not. If Watson and his linemates can bring the possession and scoring chances closer to even, that would be quite an improvement.

Final Thoughts

It will be interesting if we see another evolution of Austin Watson next year. Will he provide more balanced scoring? Can he reach 20 goals? The Nashville Predators should be confident in Watson as a leader on the fourth line. He’s formed chemistry with Colton Sissons, and he’s valuable on the penalty kill. The numbers can improve on possession and scoring chances. But for now, it’s hard to gripe with the season Austin Watson had and given the role he plays. Overall grade: B+