The Nashville Predators have inked another one of their prospects, this time signing Adam Wilsby to a two-year entry-level contract. The deal will start in 2022-23. CapFriendly reports that the contract has a cap hit of $842,500, earning Wilsby a salary of $750,000 in year one and $775,000 in year two. Both seasons contain a signing bonus and minors salary of $80,000.
Wilsby, 21, recently finished his second full SHL season with Skelleftea AIK, where he recorded 17 points in 51 regular season games. The young defenseman was a fourth-round pick of the Predators in 2020, selected 101st overall. While he may not be the most exciting name in the Predators’ prospect pipeline, Wilsby can skate like the wind and at least represents some organizational depth on defense. His success in the SHL even early on suggests he could fit right in on an AHL blueline already, though it’s unclear at this point if that’s the plan for him next season.
Given that he’s unlikely to spend much time in the NHL, the team could still loan him back overseas for another year. In fact, since his SHL contract actually extends through 2022-23, that seems the likely scenario, despite this new entry-level deal with Nashville. It still might be some time until Predators fans see him in the NHL lineup, but the fact that his post-draft years have gone this well is always a positive.
And of course, another Dman. :/