This just in, the Nashville Predators have signed 25 year old goaltender Dylan Wells to a professional tryout (PTO) contract.
Wells played last season for the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars organizations and was part of the Max Domi trade that sent Domi from Chicago to Dallas. In total, Wells played 20 AHL games split between the Rockford IceHogs and Texas Stars and just one NHL game for the Blackhawks. He put up solid numbers, but wasn't able to secure himself a contract with the Stars this offseason.
Wells was drafted in the 5th round (123rd overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers and spent two seasons with the Oilers' AHL and ECHL affiliates before being shipped to the Carolina Hurricanes. His best season came in 2021-22 with the Oilers' ECHL affiliate Norfolk Admirals where he managed to start 43 games.
Truthfully, I'm not sure that Wells has much of a shot of making the Predators' full-time roster. They've obviously got Juuse Saros as their uncontested starter with Kevin Lankinen backing him up. On the depth chart they've got 21 year old former 1st round pick Yaroslav Askarov and veteran Troy Grosenick. The Predators are pretty stacked at the NHL and AHL levels so look for Wells to compete with the Preds' goaltending prospects for a shot at the ECHL job with the Preds' affiliate Atlanta Gladiators.
