Nashville,\u00a0Tenn. (July\u00a017,\u00a02026)\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Nashville\u00a0Predators\u00a0President of Hockey Operations\/General Manager Chris MacFarland\u00a0announced today that\u00a0Matt Calvert has been hired as Forward Development Coach.\u00a0In\u00a0this\u00a0role,\u00a0Calvert will assist Predators Assistant General Manager, Milwaukee Admirals General Manager and Director of Player Development Scott Nichol in following and evaluating forward prospects drafted and signed by Nashville, helping them with their maturation process into NHL players by focusing on nutrition, off-ice workouts and conditioning, practice habits and game performance.<\/p>\n
Calvert, 36 (12\/24\/89),\u00a0joins the Predators organization after serving as co-founder and director of recruitment and development\u00a0for CAL Sports Management.\u00a0A former NHL player, Calvert retired in\u00a0July\u00a02021 after playing 11 seasons for Columbus and Colorado, posting 203 points (95g-108a) in 566 career games.\u00a0The forward\u00a0additionally played for the WHL\u2019s Brandon Wheat Kings from 2007-10, serving as captain in his final season while being named to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team in 2009-10. He spent one season as Brandon\u2019s development coach in 2021-22.<\/p>\n
Originally selected by Columbus in the fifth round (127th overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft, the\u00a0Brandon, Manitoba, native played for the Blue Jackets\u00a0and Avalanche during MacFarland\u2019s tenures as assistant general manager for both teams.\u00a0He recorded a career-high 26 points (11g-15a) in 2018-19 with Colorado and\u00a0hit the 20-point mark in seven of his NHL campaigns.\u00a0<\/p>\n