Not voluntarily, but due to injuries, the Nashville Predators are getting younger on their roster with the latest injuries to Jeremy Lauzon and Michael McCarron.
Lauzon is week-to-week with a lower body injury and McCarron has been placed on injuried reserve, according to the team's official social media account.
#Preds Roster Update: We've recalled defensemen Adam Wilsby and Nick Blankenburg from @mkeadmirals.
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) November 27, 2024
Forward Michael McCarron has been placed on injured reserve (upper body).
Full details ⬇️https://t.co/HdeW7WKrEi
Being called up to replace Lauzon is 26-year-old right shot defenseman Nick Blankenburg who has 55 games of NHL experience and 24-year-old left shot defenseman Adam Wilsby who is expected to make his NHL debut on Wednesday against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Both players are expected to start against the Flyers for the Predators on Wednesday night, with Marc Del Gaizo being the planned healthy scratch. A bit of a surprising move considering Del Gaizo has looked good for the most part, but Wilsby's stock at a prospect has really been rising ever since training camp.
Wilsby has five points in 13 games for the Admirals this season, which is his third season in the AHL. He was drafted by the Predators in the fourth round of 2020.
Blankenburg is in his first season with the Admirals after being signed by the Predators organization over this past offseason. He's undrafted and spent his previous three seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets and managed 18 points on the NHL level.
The Predators have been exposed constantly by teams with more speed, leaving goaltender Juuse Saros in really bad situations. They've also gotten basically no offense from their defensive corps with only eight goals from all of their defensemen so far this season in 22 games.
The loss of Lauzon will lower the physicality aspect for the Predators, but to be quite honest he's not having nearly as positive of an impact as he was last season. Wilsby might be able to to show coaches more than Lauzon was, and even make Lauzon expendable.
As for McCarron hitting injured reserve, it gives Svechkov the chance to remain on the NHL level for the foreseeable future and continue to build his confidence in his transition from the AHL to NHL.
The Admirals have a 9-4-1 record and in second place in the Central Division. They have already seen some core players already lost to the Predators full-time with Zachary L'Heureux and Marc Del Gaizo. Wilsby has a really strong chance to stick around for a while with Lauzon being designated as week-to-week and Dante Fabbro already long gone and lost on waivers.