On Nov. 1, President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced that the Predators had recalled forward Mark Jankowski from the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals. Jankowski led the Admirals in points (9) and was tied for the team lead in goals (5) through seven games to begin the 2022-23 campaign.
In his Predators debut against the Calgary Flames - his former team - Jankowski picked up right where he left off in Milwaukee. His strength and aggressive net front presence paid off late in the first period, when he buried the rebound on a Michael McCarron shot to give the Preds an early 1-0 lead.
"I've played a lot of different styles with different teams over the last few years," Jankowski said. "You've just got to adjust and adapt quickly. I'm a big body. I like to be physical and use my body. I might not kill guys with hits or anything, but I like to use my body and protect the puck and get in on the forecheck... They do a really good job in Milwaukee of trying to play a similar system in that sense. And so I think it's been a good transition."
Jankowski tallied his second goal of the season in Saturday's win over the New York Rangers, scoring on a feed from Roman Josi after the Rangers turned the puck over in their own zone at 8:37 of the second period. Jankowski has skated in every game for the Predators since being recalled during Nashville's five-game road trip, and Saturday was his first game - and win - at home.
"I've been just kind of meshing with the guys," Jankowski said Monday after practice. "I was here all training camp and Europe as well, so I kind of knew the guys and the coaching staff and everything. So it was a pretty seamless transition just being able to go in. The coaches gave me a lot of trust and faith and they just said, 'Go play your game,' and that's what I've tried to do."
