Fink Still Learning, Improving Every Day of Preds Development Camp Ahead of Upcoming Season

While several Preds prospects are experiencing their first or second Development Camp, there’s a couple that have been around a little longer — including Aiden Fink.

Fink, a seventh-round draft pick in 2023, caught a brief glimpse of professional hockey in April. He spent six games with the Milwaukee Admirals before ending the season with a call-up to Nashville, although he has yet to dress for an NHL game.

Now, Fink is back for his fourth Development Camp.

A lot has changed from his first summer in Nashville. He wrapped up three seasons at Penn State, gained AHL experience and has leveled up several aspects of his game. 

But some things haven’t changed — like his desire to learn, and the places he looks. 

“Every Dev Camp you can come, you can learn even more,” Fink said on the first day of training. “I'm still learning, so, just take it day by day, learn from new guys, especially these young guys. They can teach me a lot.”

Last year, stronger skating and deception were an emphasis for Fink; he worked on them after every practice. This time he’s picking up tricks from fellow prospects, including recent first-round draft-pick Wyatt Cullen.

“You can learn skills from everyone,” Fink said. “Wyatt Cullen, he's a super skilled forward. I can learn from him every day, even though he's younger than me. I can see what he does, I can learn from him, and I can take away new skills.” 

Like every hopeful prospect, Fink has always been looking for ways to elevate his game. 

One of his biggest goals entering Penn State in fall of 2023 was getting stronger. At 5-foot-10, the right winger knew he needed to up his physicality to get to the next level. 

And through three seasons with the Nittany Lions, he did. Fink grew his strength, skating and shot, highlighted by several program records - most power-play goals, highest career points-per-game and more. 

He became the fastest player in program history to reach 100 career points, doing so in 87 games. He set the program’s single-season points record with 53 points (23g-30a) during his sophomore year, also becoming Penn State’s first Hobey Baker Memorial Award Top-10 Finalist. 

That development led to his stint in Milwaukee — where he tallied 10 points (3g-7a) in six games — after Penn State’s season ended in late March. 

Fink finished his time with the Admirals on a five-game point streak, good enough to earn him a recall to Nashville to round out the season. While has yet to make his NHL debut, his performance in Milwaukee was the kind that shows signs of readiness.

“If there's a young player that's ready to play, we'll know it,” Preds President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chris MacFarland said July 1 of Nashville’s prospects. “We'll know by his play, whether it's here or in Milwaukee… They have to show that they can be good players down there. Over a 10-game span, you’ve got to have your A-game down there, nine-out-of 10 games. If you can't do it down there, you can't do it here.”

Fink said he learned a lot from his couple of weeks in Milwaukee, as well as his short time in Nashville, watching the habits of NHL veterans like Ryan O’Reilly and Steven Stamkos. 

“They get here about two and a half hours before ice, some of them do, and they're just in the gym stretching,” Fink recalled. “They’ve got to play a full 82 games, so they’ve got to keep their body healthy…just kind of the off-ice thing about being a pro, that’s the biggest thing [I learned].”

Fink’s mindset has remained the same each Development Camp: Get better every day. That mentality explains why the seventh-round pick is still at Preds Development Camp three years later. 

Last Dev Camp, Fink said he never thinks about the NHL until he arrives in Nashville for the summer. But this time around, the League is looking a lot closer than before. 

Fink will begin the second year of his entry-level contract in the upcoming season, with hopes of making his NHL debut. And if he doesn't, he’ll keep learning.

“I'm just trying to do what I can to make my game better,” Fink said. “I'm trying to make the team, but if I don't, I can go down to Milwaukee and develop there. They’ve got a really good program… [I] played six games there [last season], and it was awesome. I developed a lot. I learned from the guys that have been there for a while… [I’m] aiming to make the [Predators roster], but if I don't, I'm excited to get down to Milwaukee.”