Nashville, Tenn. (January 15, 2015) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Thursday that the club has assigned forward Kevin Fiala to the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals. The St. Gallen, Switzerland native played the first half of the 2014-15 season with HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League.

“We would like to commend and thank former Nashville Predator and HV71 Head Coach Andreas Johansson for his mentorship of Kevin both on and off the ice over the past season and a half and wish them the best in their playoff push,” Poile said. “However, we feel that Kevin’s development into an NHL-ready player is best served by playing the duration of the 2014-15 season under the guidance of Milwaukee Head Coach Dean Evason and Assistant Coach Stan Drulia in the Predators system. By getting a head start on the acclimation process to the North American style of play and smaller rinks, we expect Kevin – like Filip Forsberg two seasons ago – will continue his growth as a dynamic offensive prospect.”

Fiala, 18 (7/22/96), posted 14 points (5g-9a) in 20 games for HV-71 this season, tied for the fourth-most goals and assists, and sixth-most points among SHL junior players. The 5-10, 180-pound winger also represented Switzerland at the 2015 World Junior Championship, being named one of the nation’s three best players for the tournament while tying for fifth among all skaters in goals (4g-1a-5pts, 6gp).

In 2013-14, Fiala was a finalist for the 2014 Swedish Hockey League Rookie of the Year Award after tying for the lead in points among all under-18 SHL players with 11 (3g-8a) in 17 games for HV71. The 13th overall selection in the 2014 Draft represented his homeland at the World Junior Championship, Under-18 World Championship and World Championship in 2014, becoming just the third player ever to participate in all three tournaments in the same year (Andrei Kostitsyn and Vadim Karagan, Belarus in 2003).

The Nashville Predators, who have won four-straight games, take on the visiting Washington Capitals Friday night (7 p.m., FOX Sports Tennessee, 102.5 The Game). The contest, the Preds last home game before the All-Star Break, marks the return of former coaches Barry Trotz, Lane Lambert and Mitch Korn to the Music City for the first time.

Fans can celebrate Nashville’s All-Star representation by purchasing upper-level tickets to any Tuesday home game in January or February for $20.15 by entering promo code “ALLSTAR” on ticketmaster.com. A limited number of tickets still remain for Friday’s game, where all fans in attendance will receive a Mike Fisher bobble head. Call 615-770-7800 for more information and to purchase.