Adam Vingan

USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee

EDMONTON, Alberta — Kevin Fiala sat in an end-of-season meeting with David Poile and Peter Laviolette last spring in which the Predators forward prospect confidently told the team's general manager and coach that he would be a part of their roster for the upcoming season. Nothing but the NHL would suffice.

The 2014 first-round draft pick did everything that he could to actualize that claim, moving to Nashville to train throughout the summer and participating in the Predators' development camp and preseason rookie tournament. On Sept. 26, Fiala was one of 23 announced cuts to the training-camp roster, with the organization feeling the 19-year-old could benefit from some more North American seasoning at a lower level.

"I was really disappointed that I didn't make the team because I was probably not good enough," Fiala said. "That made me angry. I wasn't angry at anybody else. Just me."

That frustration soured his attitude, which initially hindered his development in the American Hockey League. In 15 games for the Milwaukee Admirals in October and November, Fiala scored once, standing out more for his temper than his first-rate offensive skill.

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During a Nov. 11 game against the Lake Erie Monsters, Fiala made an obscene gesture toward the opposing bench. He was assessed a game misconduct and subsequently suspended by the AHL for two games.

"We tried to do the same steps as we do with everybody," Milwaukee Admirals coach Dean Evason said of how he managed the situation. "We talk to them, we show them video clips. At one point it was calling him out basically for different reasons face to face and then ultimately we ended up sitting him out a couple of games to adjust his attitude. ... He's never been cut, he's never been sat out, he's never been sat out during a game. He's likely been the best player on his teams and it was an eye-opening experience for him."

Said Predators forward Cody Bass, an Admirals teammate of Fiala's: "I just saw a young kid trying to figure out his way. His game wasn't where the organization and he wanted it to be. It's tough."

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Fiala eventually realized that harboring such a mindset was preventing him from reaching his goal. Once he did, his production increased, scoring five goals and 12 points in 14 December games.

"I had a couple bad moves in the AHL at the start and (one) day I felt like I can't do this anymore. ... I have to just change," Fiala said. "I'm happy that I had the help from the coaches, from the organization, from my parents, my girlfriend. And then I changed."

Last week, the Predators recalled Fiala, something that Poile wasn't originally intending to do this season before the team began to sink in the Western Conference standings. Fiala was immediately thrust onto Nashville's first line against Winnipeg the next night, scoring his first NHL goal 59 seconds into the second regular-season game of his career.

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It was an opportunity created by a positive mindset.

"If you don't have the right attitude, you're not going to give yourself an opportunity to have success and get back to where you want to be sooner than later," Evason said. "The players that do, the players that we've seen in the past that do get sent down and come down with the right attitude, they're back a lot quicker than later. There's no question that that played a factor into it.

"Once his head was straight, it allowed his body to just play the game the way he can play the game. A lot of times early in the year, it didn't look like he was going full-out all the time and when everything settled down, mentally he was in a good place, we saw him with that consistent effort daily, not only nightly, but daily. Clearly it allowed him to have success as far as producing on the ice."

Reach Adam Vingan on Twitter @AdamVingan.

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