Who is the Greatest #18 in Nashville Predators history?

We will now proceed to #18 of our jersey series. This time, most of our candidates hail from universities with elite hockey programs, while one came from what is now a former NHL city and played only a handful of games with the Predators before being dumped fairly quickly.

Mark Mowers

Mowers made his NHL debut with the Predators in their inaugural season after being signed as a free agent with the team. Prior to coming to the Predators, Mowers accumulated a slew of honors from his collegiate years at the University of New Hampshire, which included Hockey East Rookie of the Year (1995), Hockey East First Team East All-Star (1998), and NCAA East First Team All-American (1998). He went on to play four years for the Predators, splitting his time between them and their farm team in Milwaukee.

In reality, Mowers truly thrived at the minor league level and not so much at the NHL level, where he was only able to 4 goals in 85 games. In 51 games with the Admirals during his first season with the franchise, he scored 14 goals and 36 points, earning the U.S. Born Rookie of the Year-IHL. In his next three years with the Admirals, he scored 55 goals in 131 games. Following his four-year stint with the Predators, Mowers became a free agent and shortly thereafter signed with the Detroit Red Wings. Throughout the rest of his career, Mowers would continue splitting his time between the NHL and AHL before finally moving across the Atlantic to play in the National League A in Switzerland.

Adam Hall

The Michigan State right winger was selected 52nd overall by the Predators in the second round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Hall joined the Predators immediately upon graduation in 2002 and continued with them for three full seasons. His play was very consistent during his time with the Predators, amassing no less than 13 goals and 27 points every season. For his steady performance, Hall was selected to participate in the 2003 Topps/NHL YoungStars game on All-Star weekend and later that spring represented the U.S. at the World Championships.

The following season, Hall was instrumental in helping the Predators reach their first ever playoff series against their arch nemesis, the Detroit Red Wings. Hall’s spectacular play earned him an invite to the 2004 World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic. He was eventually traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for Dominic Moore in the summer of 2006.

Mike Santorelli

Santorelli was selected 178th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Preds. After graduating from North Michigan University in 2007, Santorelli joined the Admirals in 2007. The impressive offensive numbers that Preds scouts saw from Santorelli from his time at North Michigan continued, scoring 21 goals and 42 points that season.

In 2008-2009 he scored 27 goals and 43 points for the Ads. That same season, Santorelli made his NHL debut with the Predators on January 8, 2009, against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He would go on to play seven games with the Predators that season, compiling nothing other than a +/- rating of -5 for his stint with the Preds. The next season Santorelli also split his time with the Predators and Admirals. In Milwaukee, his offensive success did not seem to wane at all, scoring 26 goals and 59 points in 57 games. With the Predators, Santorelli was only able to score 2 goals and 3 points in 25 games, and it became clear that Santorelli’s offensive success with the Ads did not translate to the NHL level. On August 5, 2010, Santorelli was traded by Nashville to the Florida Panthers for a 5th round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Niclas Bergfors

Bergfors, a quite disappointing acquisition for the Predators, signed a one-year contract worth $575,000 with the Predators on July 4 2011. The previous season, Bergfors had played for the Atlanta Thrashers and was able to score 11 goals and 29 points in 52 games. However, after playing only eleven games with the Predators, Bergfors amassed 1 goal and 1 assist before being placed on unconditional waivers by the Predators on November 24, 2011, making him a free agent. Bergfors soon decided to head overseas to the KHL, signing with the Ak Bars Kazan on 2 December 2011. After playing only eight games with them, he joined Severstal Cherepovets on a two-year contract.

Brandon Yip

A Boston University alum, Yip came over to the Predators to join his former teammate Colin Wilson on January 19, 2012, after being placed on waivers by the Colorado Avalanche. Though it was rumored Yip was to be used as temporary collateral by the Predators to land a big name, the ¾ Chinese, ¼ Irish right winger ended up finding his niche with the Preds. He was worked in on the fourth line with Nick Spaling and Craig Smith, and in 25 games during the remainder of the regular season, Yip recorded 3 goals and 7 assists. He provided the necessary depth the Preds needed to clinch their seventh playoff appearance. In 10 games of the postseason, Yip landed 1 goal and 1 assist.