Predators sign five

Photos: Rob Trubia, Abbotsford Canucks, Micheline V

The Nashville Predators have signed defensemen Jordan Gross, Kevin Gravel and Roland McKeown to two-year contracts, and forwards Mark Jankowski and Kiefer Sherwood to one-year contracts.

Gross won the Eddie Shore Award as the outstanding defenseman in the AHL for the 2021-22 season. He led all league blueliners with 65 points in 61 games for the Colorado Eagles, and his 55 assists were the most by an AHL defenseman in 22 years.

Gross has skated in 179 AHL games over four pro seasons with Colorado and Tucson, totaling 25 goals and 94 assists for 119 points. He has also played 10 games in the NHL with Colorado and Arizona, collecting four assists.

Gravel tallied three goals and 11 assists for 14 points in 59 games with the AHL’s Stockton Heat in 2021-22, his eighth pro season.

Gravel has played 273 games in the AHL with Stockton, Bakersfield, Toronto, Ontario and Manchester, picking up 21 goals and 53 assists for 74 points. He won the Calder Cup as a rookie with the Monarchs in 2015.

Originally a fifth-round pick by Los Angeles in the 2010 NHL Draft, Gravel has notched one goal and 12 assists in 109 career NHL contests with Los Angeles, Edmonton and Toronto.

McKeown recorded three goals and 17 assists for 20 points along with a plus-22 rating in 61 games with the Colorado Eagles in 2021-22. He also posted eight assists in nine postseason matches.

The six-year pro has played 332 games in the AHL with Colorado and Charlotte, registering 19 goals and 85 assists for 104 points along with a cumulative plus-83 rating. McKeown won a Calder Cup title with Charlotte in 2019.

A second-round pick by Los Angeles in the 2014 NHL Draft, McKeown has three assists in 10 career NHL games with Carolina.

Jankowski notched 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points in 32 AHL games with the Rochester Americans last season, along with two goals and three assists in 19 NHL contests with the Buffalo Sabres. Jankowski also skated in 10 Calder Cup Playoff games, tallying six goals and one assist.

Originally selected by Calgary in the first round (21st overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Jankowski has played 272 games in the NHL over his six-year pro career, totaling 42 goals and 38 assists for 80 points with Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Calgary.

In 110 AHL contests with Rochester and Stockton, Jankowski has amassed 44 goals and 53 assists for 97 points. He was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team in 2016-17 and skated in that year’s AHL All-Star Classic.

Sherwood registered 36 goals and 39 assists for 75 points in 57 games with the Colorado Eagles in 2021-22, good for third in the AHL in goals and fifth in points and earning a Second Team AHL All-Star nod. He tacked on four goals and six assists in eight Calder Cup Playoff games, and also posted a goal and an assist in 11 contests in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche.

Sherwood has played 144 games in the AHL with Colorado and San Diego, totaling 70 goals and 64 assists for 134 points. In 87 NHL contests with Colorado and Anaheim, he has seven goals and 11 assists.