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By Mark McGee, Sports Correspondent
June 05, 2007

The Nashville Predators took a step toward restocking the depth of the franchise with the signing of six European players.

Leading the way is center Patric Hornqvist, 20, who earned Rookie of the Year honors this past season in the Swedish Elite League after scoring 23 goals. Hornqvist, 5-11, 187 pounds, was Nashville’s seventh pick, 230th overall, in the seventh round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

“He played in the Elite League when he was 19,” said David Poile, Predators vice-president/general manager. “He became the youngest player in the league to score that many goals, beating the record of Peter Forsberg. He looks like he is going to be a real good prospect.”

He also played for Sweden in the 2007 World Junior Championships and the 2007 World Championships with two goals and six assists
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“Patric was a little bit of a late bloomer,” Poile said. “Our scouts have done a really good job of identifying these guys and helping us have some good luck later in the draft.

“We had him over here and he was playing soccer with some of our guys. He is an unbelievable soccer player. He has a lot of athletic ability.”

Hornqvist is the only one of the six signees who will not play in North America this season. He has decided to play in Sweden for the 2007-08 season.

“Some of the younger guys are deciding to spend extra time playing in Europe,” Poile said. “That is fine in terms of their development and maturity. Obviously, playing in the Elite League is certainly the equivalent of the American Hockey League.”

Hornqvist’s contract is for three years. He will be paid $475,000 in his first NHL season, $525,000 his second year and $550,000 in his third year. If he stays in the minors he will be paid $62,500.

Forwards Antti Pilhstrom and Oliver Setzinger and defenseman Janne Niskala, Richard Stehlik and Alexander Sulzer are expected to spend the 2007-2008 season with the Milwaukee Admirals.

“Bringing in Niskala, Stehlik and Sulzer, three guys we drafted, should really help our depth and our competition at training camp this season,” Poile said.

Niskala, 25, led Swedish league defensemen in scoring (and ranked tenth overall) this season with 49 points (19 goals and 30 assists) in 53 games with Farjestads BK Karlstad. He was second on his team in scoring and led the club with a plus-25 rating.

He was Nashville’s fifth choice, 147th overall in the fifth round in the 2004 Entry Draft. He has a one-year contract paying him $495,000 in the NHL and $70,000 in the minors.

“He is making pretty good money in Europe,” Poile said. “He wants to see how close he is to playing in the NHL. We are going to take it one year at a time.”

Stehlik, 22, captured his second straight Czech league championship this past season with HC Sparta Praha. He is 6-4, 242 pounds and scored nine points (eight goals, one assist) in 42 games. He also represented Slovakia at the World Championships for the second straight season.

“We look for Stehlik to be more of a defensive defenseman who can play a more physical game than Niskala.” Poile said. “We could use some more size on the blue line.”

He was Nashville’s fifth choice, 76th overall (third round), in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. His contract is for two years, paying him $475,000 in year one and $525,000 the second year on the NHL level and $68,750 in the minors.

Sulzer, 23, finished his fourth season with Dusseldorf (Germany), posting 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 44 games. Sulzer, 6-1, 207 pounds, played for Germany at the 2007 World Championships.

“Sulzer was a pretty high draft pick and an all-around player,” Poile said. “He has gotten better and better.

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