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After flurry of moves, Preds recall prized prospect Fiala

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Over the past few seasons the Nashville Predators have been able to rely on the play of goaltender Pekka Rinne, but that's not the case this season as he's been one of the most disappointing players in the NHL.

Looks like David Poile isn’t done shaking up his club.

Having already pulled the Seth Jones-for-Ryan Johansen blockbuster and waived former first-round pick Cody Hodgson, Poile made more ripples Wednesday afternoon by recalling Kevin Fiala -- the 11th overall pick in 2014 -- from AHL Milwaukee.

Poile also called up Cody Bass, put Colin Wilson on injured reserve and sent Viktor Arvidsson to the Admirals.

The big story, though, is Fiala, the 19-year-old that nearly made the Preds out of training camp this year after making his NHL regular season and Stanley Cup playoff debut last season.

“It’s difficult,” Preds head coach Peter Laviolette said upon cutting the Swiss teenager, per The Tennessean. “He’s a young player. He’s going to be a terrific player for us. We’ve got 23 spots on the roster that we can take players in, and at this point, this is where we felt we needed to be.”

Fiala has spent all of this season with the Admirals, posting mixed results. It’s hard to overlook his minus-16 rating, though his point production (21 in 34 games) is pretty much on par with last season, his first in the AHL.

Fiala admitted to having a “terrible” start to the year but, per Milwaukee head coach Dean Evason, really turned things around in December.

It’ll be very interesting to see what impact Fiala can have on the club. The Preds are struggling right now, fighting tooth and nail for wild card positioning in the Western Conference.

Related: The Preds are concerned, and they should be