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    Brady Skjei in his debut against Carolina Hurricanes

    Madoc Meredith Posted on

    The Nashville Predators’ newest defenseman, Brady Skjei, made his preseason debut on Wednesday night, playing in a familiar building against a familiar opponent.

    Against the Carolina Hurricanes, with whom he spent the last four seasons, Skeji clocked 19:02 in the Predators’ 6-4 win, producing one shot, two hits and one penalty.

    “It was a lot of fun,” Skjei said at practice on Thursday. “Definitely a little strange since it’s the first game in Predators gear and playing (at Carolina).”

    Skjei was able to briefly reconnect with the Hurricanes players and staff, which he said made the experience more enjoyable. He also reunited with a young fan he had regularly interacted with during warmups during his time at Carolina.

    “Her name is Emma,” Skjei said. “She sits in the corner every single game where I warm up a little with stickhandling. Every game I usually threw her a puck and tapped her on the glass. Last night she came off the (Carolina side) of the ice so I could do the same thing. It was pretty fun.

    Skjei, 30, signed a seven-year, $49 million contract with the Predators over the summer, the largest contract he has ever signed in the NHL. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound defenseman has developed into a reliable two-way player since being drafted by the Rangers in the first round in 2012. In 609 career games, Skjei scored 68 goals and 179 assists while averaging 20 points: 38 per game.

    The Predators are expected to field Skjei with Roman Josi as their top pairing. Last season, Josi played with Ryan McDonagh, who was traded back to Tampa in the offseason.

    SKJEI READY: How the addition of Brady Skjei improves the Nashville Predators’ defense

    The Hurricanes also raised over $235,000 to help victims of Hurricane Helene, and Skjei said he was proud to be a part of it.

    Skjei will have two chances to face the Hurricanes in the regular season. The first takes place on December 23rd at Bridgestone Arena, the second on March 25th in Carolina.

    Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at [email protected]. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1

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