Hunter Skinner
Hunter Skinner is a left-shot minor-league depth defenseman who cleared waivers this week and will open the season with the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals, not on Nashville's NHL roster.
Role
According to SI's Predators site (24 September 2026) and RotoWire (25 September 2026), Skinner was placed on waivers by Nashville on Friday, September 25, and cleared the next day, sending him to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL rather than the Predators' 23-man opening roster. He signed a one-year, two-way deal with Nashville on July 1, 2026, and appeared in Predators camp and preseason drills (Yahoo Sports/The Tennessean photo coverage, first day of camp, September 17, 2026) as a depth blueliner competing for a bottom-pairing NHL spot behind Nashville's established group of Roman Josi, Ryan Ufko, Justin Barron (also waived the same day), Nicolas Hague, Ilya Lyubushkin, Jack Ahcan, Nick Perbix, Brady Skjei and Tanner Molendyk. With Milwaukee, he would be counted on for regular defensive minutes and depth power-play looks in the AHL, but no NHL power-play or line assignment applies since he is not on Nashville's active roster.
RotoWire notes he has scored at least 19 points in each of the last four AHL seasons, and he already has NHL experience, having made his debut with St. Louis on November 14, 2025, so if Nashville suffers injuries on the back end he is a recallable option who could see NHL minutes again this season.
He was waived and cleared without another team claiming him, meaning no NHL club valued him highly enough to add him to a 23-man roster; he begins the season in the AHL with Milwaukee and has only 22 career NHL games (per Puckpedia/Wikipedia), giving him no established NHL role to fall back into.
Where analysts split
There is no analyst disagreement to report here: the reporting (SI Predators, RotoWire, Pro Hockey Rumors) is uniform that Skinner cleared waivers and is headed to the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals for the start of the season.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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