Since making his NHL debut this season, Adam Wilsby has impressed the Nashville Predators.
The defenseman looks right at home after developing his game with the Milwaukee Admirals for the last two seasons and spending parts of three seasons in the Swedish Hockey League before coming to North America.
Admirals head coach Karl Taylor said in March that Wilsby has been knocking on the door since arriving in May 2022. Taylor even tossed him right into playoff action to get his feet wet.
“He handled it good because he looked so good in practice with his feet,” Taylor said. “Last year (2022-23) he had a good season with Spencer Stastney, those two guys together at this level, the way they defend they played against top lines all through the playoffs.”
Then after a slow start to training camp in 2023 down in Nashville, he was reassigned to Milwaukee and then scratched in the first three games of the season in the AHL.
“Then he solely pieced it together and asked for more,” Taylor said.
As Taylor continued to oversee his development he believed there was more to Wilsby’s game and continued to hand him opportunities. He knew there was another level to his game that was attainable in the future, hence his call-up to the Predators this season.
“You see him attack off the blue line with his legs, there’s still more offense to Willy,” Taylor said. “I think we have to keep feeding that animal and trying to prepare him for that. The way he defends and the way he’s playing with confidence you can see he’s ready.
“It’s not that they’re better than the league or better than everyone else. It’s that they’re demanding their attention with how confident they are in their game. When you see the confidence level where Willy’s is now that’s why I mention that he’s ready for that opportunity.”
Stunt on ’em…
Wilsby with the first goal of his career!@PredsNHL | #smashville pic.twitter.com/26m0l6XBth
— Predators On FanDuel Sports Network (@FDSN_Predators) December 18, 2024
Since being in the NHL this season, Wilsby has been alongside defenseman Luke Schenn in seven of his first 12 games. Going back to when the two met before training camp last season, Schenn noticed right away how stout the 24-year-old is.
“Coming back this year before training camp in the unorganized skates in September I was like ‘Who is this guy?” Schenn said. “It seemed like he had a great summer, came back, and was flying around. He’s played with a ton of confidence and poise, has an elite skating ability, and moves the puck well.”
Schenn said Wilsby has done well with taking angles on forecheckers when he’s holding the blue line on rush chances by opposing teams.
Back when Schenn came into the NHL he noticed how well defenders could skate backward. Nowadays it’s more about taking away lanes and having an active stick while being able to move backward.
“When you have that kind of skating ability and that edgework – he does a great job at that – he’s able to close plays in a hurry and catch forwards off guard a little bit just because of his skating ability,” Schenn said.
Wilsby has been able to make a seamless transition and he credits the SHL and the Admirals coaching staff for challenging him to become the player he’s sought out to always be.
Once he came over to make his professional debut in the Predators organization he took what he learned and put it into action.
“With my team in Sweden, we were taught a lot about skating forward, I feel like that’s been a good skill set to have,” Wilsby said. “On the bigger ice as well, you always have to have an angle so that helped me work on that area of my game. I came over here and I’ve been able to use it more.”
Once Wilsby settled in after a slow start to last season he took advantage of having a simple mindset. It’s allowed him to not worry about the things he couldn’t control in a defensive rich organization that’s been well constructed.
“I’m playing to my strengths and I’ve kept doing what I did in Milwaukee and not doing anything crazy,” Wilsby said. “I’m trying to build trust with the coaching staff and other players that way, earn minutes, and stay here a while.”
Down the line, Schenn thinks Wilsby is enough of a mobile defenseman that he could run a powerplay unit one day. Not to set an expectation too high, however, Wilsby certainly fits the criteria according to Schenn.
“That’s going to come with his skating ability and confidence up on the blue line and being able to get more shots through,” Schenn said. “I see him being able to put up some pretty good numbers down the road for sure.”
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of the Nashville Predators
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