Nashville Predators sign Nolan Burke to a three-year entry-level contract

Nashville Predators president of hockey operations and general manager David Poile announced Monday that they have signed forward Nolan Burke to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Burke,19, hails from Peterborough Ontario and was taken by the Sarnia Sting in the fourth round of the 2018 OHL Priority Selection Draft. He has spent his entire major junior career with the Sting. Last season he had a breakout performance where he led the Sting with 34 goals and 59 points in 64 regular season games.

This year, Burke has been on a tear and is off to a hot start. He has accumulated 15 goals and 24 points through his first 16 games so far, which includes 10 points in his last five games. He currently leads the OHL in the goals department and is tied for sixth in the league in points. He doesn’t look like he will slow down anytime soon. Burke was the runner-up for OHL Player of the Week recently, which was won by Edmonton Oilers prospect and North Bay Battalion forward Matvei Petrov.

Burke’s hot start is no fluke. The 6-foot-1 185-pound center has had seven multi-point games this season and is currently riding a five-game point streak after scoring eight goals and two assists. He has a point in all but two games this season. He has won 91 out of his 159 faceoff draws this season, and is operating at 57.2% in the faceoff circle.

Through 137 games while in the OHL with the Sting, Burke has registered 55 goals, and 96 points. The undrafted forward also did not play during the 2020-21 season as the OHL canceled the season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Prior to joining the Sting, Burke spent time in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) with Pickering and Trenton.