Predators wing Ryan Hartman celebrates with goalie Pekka Rinne after a recent win against the Anaheim Ducks. Hartman had a short-lived career in youth football after taking his hockey mindset onto the field.. He found hockey more to his liking.

-- Ap Photo/Mark Humphrey

When the Predators played Chicago for the first time earlier this season, they were carefully protecting a one-goal lead in the closing minutes before Ryan Hartman blew everything up.

The feisty forward, then a member of the Blackhawks, simply snatched the stick of Nashville defenseman Matt Irwin – the two players had been battling for position – and chucked it into the corner.

Officials missed the sneaky play, but the Blackhawks took full advantage, quickly scoring the game-tying goal as Irwin unsuccessfully tried to defend Chicago forward Patrick Sharp without his stick. Chicago would go on to win in overtime, leaving Nashville coach Peter Laviolette and the Predators irate over Hartman’s action.

“We’re playing an unbelievable game to that point,” Laviolette said at the time, “and (to) have it taken away from us like that is ridiculous.”

Nearly half a year later, the Predators are now every bit as appreciative of Hartman’s very particular skill set as they were ticked off by it last October.

Often described as edgy, abrasive or just plain annoying, Hartman is the kind of player that’s embraced by those wearing the same-colored jersey, despised by those on the opposite bench.

Hartman has given the Predators a nice boost with his aggressive and physical play – not to mention his versatility and ability to score key goals – since arriving via trade from Chicago in late February. Undefeated in Hartman’s first seven games in the lineup, the Preds are looking forward to his contributions down the stretch and into the playoffs.

“He’s got that ability to get under other guys’ skin, just with that physical play and the way he keeps coming at you wave after wave,” says Irwin, victimized by Hartman during that early season game in Chicago.

“He’s relentless on the puck and in his pursuit of it. It’s definitely nice having him here rather than playing against him. That’s for sure.”

Not afraid of anybody

Hartman’s always had the ability to irritate those he was competing against, going all the way back to his days growing up outside of Chicago, where Hartman’s father knew just how to motivate his son.

“My dad was very tough about playing hard, and if you’re not going to play hard, then don’t be there,” Hartman, 23, recalls.

“There would be times as a kid where, if I wasn’t playing hard or aggressive, he’d just be like, ‘OK, there’s no need for you to play anymore. You don’t want it as much.’ So I guess that’s always been in me.”

Hartman’s intensity didn’t wane whether he was on the ice rink or playing any other youth sport.

“I played soccer for a bit, but that didn’t really last long,” Hartman adds. “It was me and my two hockey buddies that played, and the soccer parents weren’t really fond of our aggressive tendencies.”

Even football, which encourages physical play, didn’t prove the right environment for Hartman, who was learning the game as he went along.

“I loved football and I obviously watched it on TV, but I didn’t really know that much about the rules,” Hartman says. “In my first game, I was trying to block a punt, but the punter kicked it. He was watching the ball and I just came in and leveled him. It was a 15-yard penalty on me.

“I had no idea (it wasn’t allowed). He wasn’t too happy about that. His coach wasn’t either. But it was a fun year.”

Hartman’s former youth football coach, Norberto Olalde, once offered The Chicago Tribune this description of what the 13-year-old Hartman was like playing for the Bloomingdale (Illinois) Bears youth football team.

“Man, that kid was tough,” Olalde said. “That kid wasn’t afraid of anybody and he had never played football before … We could tell him to go hit somebody, he’d hit somebody.

“He would nudge a guy or get in somebody’s face. He would do it legally, but he wouldn’t say a word. There was no (trash)-talking with him. It was just, ‘I’m going to pound you and I’m going to be OK and walk away.’ We used to love watching him do that.”

It becomes a war for space

The Predators grew to appreciate Hartman’s sandpaper-ish qualities so much during his first two seasons in the NHL that Nashville paid a big price for him – surrendering the team’s 2018 first-round draft pick as part of the deal that brought Hartman to Music City in late February.

Laviolette explains the significance of adding a player like the irascible 23-year-old to a team that is expected to make a deep run in the playoffs and contend for the Stanley Cup.

“I think that’s really important when it comes to playoffs or big games or the stretch run,” Laviolette acknowledges. “When you’re trying to find your way into the playoffs and push your seeding, the intensity of the game ratchets up.

“It becomes a war for space out there. You’re fighting for areas, whether it be a face-off or net-front or defensively – all the little areas in the game – where I think if you have that edge, you can be successful.”

It should be noted Hartman is more than just a run-of-the-mill irritant who’s lacking in skills.

He scored 19 goals as an NHL rookie in Chicago last season, posted four points – including two game-winning goals – in his first six games with the Predators, and has demonstrated his versatility by playing on each of Nashville’s four lines.

But at least to this point in his career, Hartman is more known for his grind than his goal-scoring, which is just fine by him. The 6-0, 180-pound forward isn’t huge, but he’s piled up over 100 hits already this season, which ranks him third among Predators forwards in that department.

“You want the guys you’re playing against to go back to the bench and feel like, ‘That’s a guy I don’t want to go out there against,’” Hartman says.

“You try to always have that mindset, to be a guy you don’t want to play against. Sometimes when you have that reputation, maybe an (opposing) defenseman will go back on a puck and he might know you’re coming. He might make mistakes. He might think twice. That can help your game a lot.”

Certain guys have a tendency to snap

One of the more valuable byproducts of Hartman’s game is that it can unnerve opponents to the point that they take foolish retaliation penalties.

During a Predators game against Colorado earlier this month, Hartman was doing his thing, playing with a typically relentless physical edge. His actions so aggravated the Avalanche’s Nikita Zadorov that the 6-5, 230-pound defenseman mugged Hartman in full view of the officials, earning the Predators a power play.

“I’ve always tried to do that, get our team on the power play,” Hartman adds. “There’s definitely some guys I’ve had pasts with from growing up and playing against them, and also from playing against guys on this level.

“There are certain guys you know have a tendency to snap and take stupid penalties. So I try to key in on some of those guys.”

Hartman had drawn 20 penalties for the season heading into this week (per naturalstattrick.com), the highest figure on the Predators and tied for 11th in the league. Those kinds of numbers don’t occur by accident.

“I know in our playoff series against them (last season), he was the same way,” Preds defenseman Ryan Ellis notes of Hartman. “When his team needed a spark, he was getting in our guys’ faces and trying to make a difference, not only on the scoresheet but on the mental side of it, too.

“We don’t really have a player like that, and I think he’s been a great addition so far.”

One of the few downsides to Hartman’s style is that sometimes he can go too far, taking too many penalties himself. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville benched Hartman on a couple of occasions for just that reason, and the fact Hartman spent a fair amount of time in the penalty box probably played a part in the Blackhawks’ willingness to trade him.

In his first seven games with the Predators, Hartman was whistled for a team-high four penalties.

“Yeah, there’s definitely a fine line,” Hartman points out. “There’s been times in the minors and my first couple years where I was kind of learning that line and trying to play right against it, but not cross over it.

“I think when I’m at my best, I’m right against that line. Not crossing over, but I’m not too far away from it.”

Laviolette acknowledged players like Hartman must maintain a proper balance in their game, making sure they aggravate opponents without hurting their own team along the way.

“Yeah, for sure (it’s a challenge) because games, playoff games, playoff series, championships are ultimately won by discipline,” Laviolette says. “You can get away with it sometimes, but I think he’s done a good job.

“He’s drawn a lot of penalties since he’s been here, played aggressively. He’s chipped in a lot of points, scored a couple big goals.

“When you think about the impact of being traded, sent to a new environment and already having a couple of game-winners, that’s pretty good. We’ll take that.”

Reach John Glennon at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @glennonsports.