The Nashville Predators have added another defenseman to the pipeline, signing Spencer Stastney to his two-year entry-level contract. Stastney is coming off his senior season at Notre Dame and could have become an unrestricted free agent later this summer. The contract will start in 2022-23.
A product of the USNTDP, Stastney was selected 131st overall in 2018, before going to Notre Dame for four seasons. That draft may seem like a decade ago for Predators fans, especially because they didn’t have any picks in the top three rounds and haven’t received a single game of NHL action from any of their four selections.
The 22-year-old Stastney will try to change that in the future, though he still has some work to do before stepping into the Predators lineup. The undersized defenseman is certainly going to have to fight for his opportunity too, as Nashville still has quite a few names signed for next season. In fact, there are now already 11 defensemen signed before restricted free agents are even taken into consideration, meaning it will be a battle to climb the depth chart.
Someday Gavin will share a headline that reads “Preds sign high scoring college forward”. Someday…..
Meanwhile, Stastney will be, give or take a few, the 97th Dman in the Preds organization. But you can never have enough D. :/