The Nashville Predators recalled veteran defenseman Kevin Gravel from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals before Saturday’s game over the Minnesota Wild. Gravel was a healthy scratch for the matchup but offered emergency depth for defenseman Nicolas Hague, who is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury per NHL.com’s Brooks Bratten. Predators captain Roman Josi was also questionable before the game started but did end up playing, filling the hole in the lineup left by Hague.
Gravel, Milwaukee’s captain, has been a reliable anchor at the top of the Admirals’ lineup. He has played in nearly all of the team’s games dating back to his move to Milwaukee in 2022, though did have a 23-game stint with the Predators in 2022-23. Gravel has often stood out on the defensive side of the puck, where his long reach and strong frame make scoring difficult for opponents. That has also largely kept him off the scoresheet in his years in the Preadators organization. He has two points in 29 NHL games, and 54 points in 238 AHL games in the last four seasons.
With questions around who was healthy and who was not, the Predators opted to bring Gravel up as a contingency option. He is unlikely to stick with the NHL club through the rest of the season, unless Hague or Josi need an extended stay out of the lineup. It’s more likely that Gravel returns to the minors soon, where he’ll look to lead the Admirals in locking up a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Meanwhile, Nashville will hope Hague can return to his versatile, depth role soon. The 27 year old has scored 15 points in 62 games this season, two points shy of his career-high reached twice with the Vegas Golden Knights. He is in his first season with the Predators and has averaged 19:38 a night while operating behind Brady Skjei on the depth chart.