Fresh off a two-year extension, Predators defenseman Adam Wilsby’s season is over. The team announced he’s been placed on injured reserve and will miss the rest of the 2024-25 campaign with the upper-body injury that cost him nine of the Preds’ final 17 games before the break. In additional moves, the team issued winger Zachary L’Heureux a week-to-week designation for his upper-body injury and moved him to IR. They also activated veteran Mark Jankowski from injured reserve, so at least he’ll be available coming out of the break after missing the last month with an upper-body issue.
The 24-year-old Wilsby’s first NHL campaign ends after 23 games. Drafted 101st overall in 2020 out of Swedish second-tier club Södertälje SK, he’s played stateside since 2022 and was working his way up the organizational ladder. His point totals in the minors never jumped off the page, posting 10-34–44 in 146 career appearances with AHL Milwaukee to date, but he’s a well-rounded talent with good passing ability who hasn’t posted a negative rating at any level since his draft year in the HockeyAllsvenskan.
Wilsby’s entry-level contract expired last summer, so he signed a two-way deal to cover the 2024-25 campaign nearly three weeks into restricted free agency. He didn’t make the team out of camp, but he continued to chug along the minors and got his first look in the NHL lineup in late November after a lower-body injury sidelined Jeremy Lauzon, who’s also now out for the rest of the year.
He’s stuck around on the roster since his debut, not at all looking out of place. It might be easy to overlook his one goal and four assists on the year, but he’s logged significant even-strength minutes for the Preds and has even seen some shorthanded action. The 6’1″ lefty averaged 18:06 per game with a plus-three rating – second on the team behind Nick Blankenburg’s plus-nine – and recorded 17 blocks and 18 hits. He may not be overly physical, but his +4.5 expected rating at even strength leads Nashville defenders and his 52.8% Corsi share at even strength is quite respectable as well. That well-rounded initial showing earned him some security – albeit a league-minimum salary with a two-way structure the first year – for the next two seasons.
While Nashville will be disappointed not to see how he performs down the stretch, especially since he’d seen more than 20 minutes of deployment in recent outings, he’s done enough to put himself under serious consideration for a roster spot coming out of camp next season. They’ll have some turnover on the back end with waiver claim Andreas Englund and recent call-up Jake Livingstone slated for unrestricted free agency, and it stands to reason they’ll look to move the aging Luke Schenn as he enters the final year of his deal. There will be an opportunity for Wilsby to play important minutes for the retooling Preds and prove he can be a long-term second or third-pairing option on the left side.
Meanwhile, L’Heureux is ticketed for his second multi-game absence since the Preds recalled him from Milwaukee in the early weeks of the season. He missed three games in January while serving a suspension for slew-footing Wild captain Jared Spurgeon. The 21-year-old has done well in limited minutes, scoring 4-9–13 in 45 appearances while averaging 11:39 per game. The hard-nosed 2021 first-rounder leads Nashville forwards with 143 hits, although that physical play hasn’t yet translated into above-average defensive impacts. He sustained his injury on Feb. 7 against the Blackhawks and missed the Preds’ final pre-break contest as a result.
Jankowski, 30, returns after missing nine games with an upper-body issue. The 2012 first-rounder has topped out as a depth option at best, but he was actually one of the Preds’ more effective per-game producers last season with 15 points in 32 games amid AHL call-ups. The same can’t be said for Jankowski this season, who’s scored at less than half the rate with 3-5–8 in 37 appearances. He’s carried increased value defensively, though. He’s seen more deployment at center, winning half of his 210 draws, and grades out as one of Nashville’s best possession players with a 55.5 CF% and +6.8 expected rating. Opponents only score 2.2 goals per 60 minutes with Jankowski on the ice at even strength, one of the lowest numbers on the team.