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Beyond

--Jay Levin, NashvillePredators.com

he Brandon Yip acquisition is a low-risk, high-reward move for the Preds. Yip has struggled to stay healthy the past two seasons, but was a big-time scorer at the NCAA level for Boston University and has shown the ability to score in spurts at the NHL level --- he had 11 goals in 32 games as a rookie in '09-10. And there is a strong "familiarity factor" with Yip; he was teammates with Colin Wilson at BU and grew up playing hockey with Shea Weber in British Columbia youth hockey leagues. Yip and Weber have also played summer hockey together at various steps of their development.Beyond Colin Wilson , the Preds have a strong relationship with the BU program. Assistant GM Paul Fenton was a star at BU from '78-82 and Chief Amateur Scout Jeff Kealty was a standout at BU in the '90s. Both have close relationships with legendary coach Jack Parker, so not only does Yip appear to be a good on-ice fit for the Preds, but the organization has good idea of his abilities to fit into the locker room culture as well.