Following Paul Gaustad’s injury last night in Vancouver, the Nashville Predators have called up Calle Jarnkrok, the prospect acquired in the David Legwand trade, ahead of tomorrow night’s game at Calgary, in which he is expected to make his NHL debut.
This, per the Preds:
Jarnkrok, 22 (9/25/91), has five goals and seven points in five games with the Admirals since joining them following Nashville’s acquisition of him from Detroit on March 5, helping Milwaukee win four of those five contests. The Gavle, Sweden native has posted 43 points (18g-25a) in 62 games during his first full season in North America split between Milwaukee and Grand Rapids. He was recently rated No. 41 in The Hockey News’ Top 50 NHL-affiliated prospects.
While Jarnkrok has indeed been tearing it up for the Admirals, and Barry Trotz has openly talked about the possibility of giving him a look at the NHL level this spring, one can’t help but wonder what this means for Austin Watson. Nashville’s 1st round pick from 2010 (18th overall) would seem to be the natural choice to fill in for the defensively-oriented Gaustad, but Jarnkrok is getting the call instead.