Mark Jankowski Is 'Swiss Army Knife' as Predators Deal with Injuries

The Nashville Predators recalled 29-year-old Mark Jankowski on December 3 ahead of the game against the Buffalo Sabres, and Jankowski played his second NHL game of the 2023-24 season Tuesday night against the Blackhawks. Jankowski is not new to the NHL. The Hamilton, Ontario native has played 324 career NHL games including this season's games against the Sabres and Blackhawks. 

Jankowski was selected by the Calgary Flames the first round of the 2012 draft and played 208 games for the Flames before signing a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins as a free agent in October, 2020. Jankowski played 19 games the following season for the Sabres.

David Poile signed Jankowski to a one-year deal in July 2022. Last season Jankowski played 50 games for the Predators, averaging 12:26 time on ice and scoring seven goals and 12 points. Nashville was pleased with what they saw from Jankowski and re-signed him to another one-year deal in March of this year. 

Jankowski was an important part of the Milwaukee Admirals' playoff run last season playing 15 games and recording one goal and eight points. Jankowski impressed new head coach Andrew Brunette in September during Nashville's training camp. 

"I've seen him play over the years," Brunette said of Jankowski before Nashville's game against Chicago. "I really liked his training camp."

Jankowski's previous NHL experience made his transition back with Nashville an easy one. 

"He's played in the league. He knows how to handle himself," Brunette said. 

Jankowski was reunited with several teammates who also made the playoff run with the Admirals last season including Luke Evangelista, Phil Tomasino, Kiefer Sherwood, and Michael McCarron. Jankowski also joined Spencer Stastney in the Predators' locker room who was a recent call up from Milwaukee. Jankowski jumped right back in with familiar teammates McCarron and Tomasino on a line in his two games with the Predators. 

Jankowski brings plenty of size to the team. At 6'4", he is second only to McCarron in height, and Jankowski also handles the puck well and reads the game at a high level, according to Brunette. 

"He's a Swiss Army knife that can do a lot of different things," Brunette said of Jankowski's game. "Very intelligent player. I really liked his puck play last game. I thought he was making little plays, and he's a reliable two way player."

Jankowski went on to score in Tuesday night's game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Jankowski carried the puck through the neutral zone and then followed Colton Sissons to the net to clean up a rebound and give Nashville their first lead of the game in the second period. The Predators went on to win the game in a shootout. 

Jankowski's opportunity comes as the Predators continue to deal with injuries to two of their forwards. Cody Glass left the November 20 game against the Colorado Avalanche late in the third period with an upper body injury, and the next day the team announced Glass was expected to miss 4-6 weeks. The team had already announced on November 14 that center Tommy Novak would miss 4-6 weeks with an upper body injury. 

The Predators opted to recall Jankowski ahead of Sunday night's game against Buffalo and healthy scratch forward Liam Foudy. In last night's game, Foudy was again a healthy scratch, and Brunette opted to go with eleven forwards and seven defensemen against the Blackhawks. 

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