Nashville Predators sign Roman Josi to entry-level contract

by Dirk Hoag on May 28, 2010 3:01 PM EDT

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has signed 2008 second round draft pick Roman Josi (ROH-man YO-see) to a three-year entry-level contract.

Josi, 19 (6/1/90), helped SC Bern win both the Swiss League regular season and playoff titles in 2009-10. In Bern's postseason run, the 6-1 198-pounder led all defensemen and tied for fourth overall in goals (6), in addition to ranking second at the position and tied for ninth among all skaters in points (13). During the 2009-10 regular season, Josi was limited to 26 of Bern's 50 contests due to injury, but ranked second among Swiss blueliners in points per game (.81). In 2008-09, he led all Swiss League junior players in points (7), goals (17) and assists (24), and in 2007-08, Josi was one of just four 17-year-olds to play in Switzerland's top division.

The 38^th overall selection in 2008 also has a lengthy international play resume. The Bern, Switzerland native led Swiss defensemen in points (1g-2a-3pts) and plus/minus rating (+3) in seven games in his second appearance at the World Championships in May. He has also played three World Junior Championships and two U-18 World Championships. Josi was named to the Swiss team for the 2010 Olympics, but could not participate due to injury.

Josi will attend Predators training camp in September, and is expected to play his first North American season in 2010-11.

Josi is perhaps the most intriguing prospect in the Nashville Predators system, due in part to the fact that fans in North America have only seen glimpses of him. He would have played in the Vancouver Olympics, but a broken finger kept him out. Until then, check out this video...

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Comments

Hometown boy

All these signings are great but when are the Preds going to sign Blake Geoffrion?

by Biggun35 on May 28, 2010 6:25 PM EDT reply actions

With the Swedish/Finnish guys, there is a June 1 deadline by which the Preds needed to sign their guys or lose their rights. I’m not sure if that applied to Josi as well, coming from Switzerland. With Geoffrion, they’ve got more time.

More fun than a stick to the face!
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators.

by Dirk Hoag on May 28, 2010 6:58 PM EDT up reply actions

The Predators have until June 30th to sign NCAA players. I’m gonna assume Geoffrion is next on their list of priorities, then maybe Hornqvist…

Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...

by Seth Lake on May 29, 2010 10:44 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Correction

NHL teams can sign an NCAA player up to August 15th. Still plenty of time to sign Geoffrion…

Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...

by Seth Lake on May 29, 2010 11:17 AM EDT up reply actions

What's with the 1 guy on the team that weras a different jersey/helmet?

Is he the captain or something?

Christie kicks it high and short...Gonna be fielded by Lorenzo Neal at the 25...He dishes it back to Wycheck...He throws it across the field to Dyson...

www.manningface.com

by Michaeltastic on May 29, 2010 12:22 AM EDT reply actions

I saw that too. At about the 1:55 mark you can see his jersey clearly. It says ‘Top Scorer" and it is definitely different than the other uniforms, Pretty cool. I wonder who this guy is. The video is pretty good and Josi looks like he’s got some pretty good skills. The song accompanying the video is a whole ’nother story though.

by jerseypredsfan on May 29, 2010 12:31 AM EDT up reply actions

Actually, in Switzerland the guy who is the leader in points on a team wear a special jersey and helmet with flames on. The league in association with the National Postal Service gives 200 CHF (190$) for every points scored by the Top Scorer to the junior movement of the club. For example, the Top Scorer of Swiss Champions’ Bern (Ivo Ruethemann) scored 42 points and the Postal Service offered 8’400 CHF (7’300 $) to Bern junior movement.

For Josi, I saw him improve his skills every year since 2006 in the Swiss League, and he will be great for the Predators.

by PatrickB on May 31, 2010 9:38 AM EDT up reply actions

That’s cool. One time I was on a business trip to Sweden, and caught a game on TV. One guy had a shiny silver helmet, and I wondered if that was a similar deal.

More fun than a stick to the face!
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators.

by Dirk Hoag on Jun 1, 2010 7:46 AM EDT up reply actions