Preds Prospect Aiden Fink Signs ATO with Milwaukee Admirals

Three years after David Poile used a borrowed seventh-round pick to close out a 40-year NHL career with one last selection, that pick walked into professional hockey. Aiden Fink, the Calgary-born right winger chosen 218th overall at the 2023 NHL Draft on home ice at Bridgestone Arena, signed an amateur tryout agreement with the Milwaukee Admirals on March 31, joining Nashville's AHL affiliate while the Predators organization determines what kind of contract to offer him next.

The ATO structure is a deliberate piece of roster management. Nashville now holds the option to sign Fink to an entry-level contract either immediately or at the start of the 2026-27 season. Current rules would make Fink ineligible for AHL assignment if his ELC took effect today, so the ATO keeps both sides flexible: Fink gets pro-level games during Milwaukee's playoff push, Nashville gets an extended evaluation window, and the Penn State alternate captain retains the right to return to Happy Valley for his senior year if an agreement isn't reached.

He arrives carrying the most productive résumé in Penn State program history for a player his age. Despite missing time to injury in his junior season, Fink posted 38 points (10 goals, 28 assists) in 30 games. His three-year totals at Penn State, 125 points (48 goals, 77 assists) across 104 games, represent the fastest any player in Nittany Lions history has reached the century mark. The sophomore breakout that drew Hobey Baker consideration was even sharper: 53 points in 40 games in 2024-25, the best points-per-game rate in the entire NCAA that season.

At 5-foot-10 and listed at 161 pounds, Fink profiles as a top-six winger with legitimate power-play upside, though his frame will face its first real stress test against AHL-caliber defenders. Predators North American Amateur Scout Brett Carson identified the traits that made him a worthwhile seventh-round swing: "He's a puck hound and likes to shoot and score. It's a good swing for us late on a guy who hopefully will produce and get a lot of opportunity."

Milwaukee enters the postseason picture having finished first in the Central Division in 2024-25, and head coach Karl Taylor, the franchise's all-time wins leader now in his seventh season behind the bench, has the roster depth to slot Fink into a middle-six role as the winger calibrates to pro-level play. Defenseman Viggo Gustafsson signed an ATO in the same transaction, giving the Admirals a two-player infusion on both ends of the ice as the regular season concludes.

For Nashville, the calculus is straightforward: a prospect who outperformed his draft position at every collegiate stop, whose injury-shortened junior year still ranked among Penn State's best, now gets evaluated in real playoff-pressure hockey before the organization makes a contract commitment. "When I got called as David Poile's last pick, I thought that was pretty cool," Fink said after his freshman season. The next few weeks will determine whether that pick becomes the foundation of something more permanent.