After just one game in the NHL, young Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Ufko was reassigned to the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday morning.
Ufko primarily played with captain Roman Josi on the blue line. The 23-year-old played 15:27 against the Minnesota Wild on opening night and was a minus one.
After practice on Friday, Head Coach Andrew Brunette detailed why the Predators had a short leash with the defenseman.
“A few things. I thought his play tapered off; we were hoping for a better effort from him last night,” Brunete said.
“He got overwhelmed a little bit in that hockey game. We have some things to figure out on the back end, and we don’t want him sitting out; we want him playing. He’s an important part of our team going forward. We need him back to playing with swagger and getting up to speed a little bit.”
Ufko will go back to the AHL, where he has been playing for the last two seasons. He’ll likely jump back into the Admirals’ top defensive pairing as they open the season on Saturday in Rockford, Illinois.
Brunette mentioned before the first game of the season that Ufko played the best of everybody in training camp. One night off was enough for Brunette and General Manager Chris MacFarland to send him back to the AHL.
When can the Predators expect to see Ufko again?
Nashville now has 8 defensemen on its roster as it enters its second game of the regular season this weekend.
As the season gets going, there won’t be a rush for Ufko to get back in Nashville. No specific timeline was discussed, nor was it hinted at by Brunette.
“I don’t know. I think there are a lot of things on the back end in flux right now. It could be a week, it could be two months, he’ll dictate when he gets back,” Brunette said.
While the Predators skated with high intensity on Friday morning, some new defensive combinations were seen.
Roman Josi was seen with veteran Nic Hague, while the other pairs were Brady Skjei and Nick Perbix, and then Ahcan and Lyubushkin were seen together.
Nashville also rushed William Trudeau with Adam Wilsby, but official pairings will be confirmed after Saturday morning’s skate.
How the Predators will deploy defensive depth
MacFarland lost Justin Barron on waivers before the opening night roster was submitted, but he claimed a defenseman of his own.
Former New York Ranger William Trudeau is with the Predators in Nashville and has been practicing since arriving.
There’s also AHL veteran Jack Ahcan, who is looking to make an impression as well. Brunette will want to see how some of these players will look in a game before making a decision on who stays.
“We’re looking for someone to grab a job here. There’s a lot of moving parts going into tomorrow, and hopefully they step up,” Brunette said.
The Predators also have NHL veteran Ilya Lyubushkin, who can dress in a game too. He could get the nod to play against the Stars on Saturday.
Regardless, all of the defensemen, aside from Josi, are trying to compete for a full-time job. There’s more Brunette would like to see before he feels like he has three solid pairings to roll out.
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Nashville Predators Change Defensive Lines, Ufko Sent to AHL