Kealty, Poile, Nichol Ready to Embrace Promotions with Preds

David Poile always figured this day would come.
He knew his assistant general manager and "right-hand man" of 12 seasons, Paul Fenton, was more than good enough to attract the attention of other NHL clubs who had a vacancy at the top of their front office.
On Monday afternoon, that inevitable truth became reality when the Minnesota Wild named Fenton as their new general manager.

Always a planner, Poile knew exactly what to do - and he had three protégés ready to move on up. Poile and the Predators made the announcements Tuesday morning, with all three promotions coming from within the Nashville organization.
Jeff Kealty, Brian Poile and Scott Nichol all received new titles, with Kealty being named assistant general manager and director of scouting, Brian Poile moving to the role of assistant general manager and director of hockey operations and Nichol being named general manager of the Milwaukee Admirals and director of player development.
All three men have spent a number of years in the organization - Kealty will enter his 18th season with Nashville this fall, Nichol his sixth (plus four seasons as a Predators player) and Brian Poile his ninth season with the club.
After becoming familiar with the candidates over the last number of years, and as he joked about his son, "I have personally known Brian for a lot longer than [eight seasons]," David Poile says he knew this was the right time to reward each of them with an expanded role as the organization strives for the ultimate goal.
"With all three guys here today, it's all about the team," David Poile said. "If I had to go a different way, meaning if I had to make these promotions outside the organization, that would not have been a good thing. I would not have been happy with that… I hope I was a good mentor to Paul…and I hope I'm a good mentor to Jeff and Brian and Scott. It really means a lot when you can promote within your organization."

The group agrees the familiarity and relationships with one another fostered over time made the decision an easy one when it came to deciding which individual would fulfill each specific role.
For Kealty, the scouting side comes naturally. Before spending last season as director of player personnel, Kealty spent the last 11 seasons as the club's chief amateur scout, overseeing the team's past 10 NHL Drafts with 13 players drafted by Kealty on the current roster.
"I started out scouting here 17 years ago in a part-time capacity, and now here I am as an assistant GM with the team all these years later, so sometimes I have to kind of stop and pinch myself," Kealty said. "We've been together here for quite a few years now, and I know that we're all committed to achieving that ultimate goal of raising a Stanley Cup in Nashville. I'm just excited to get to work."
Brian Poile's expanded role will include managing the research, negotiation and handling of player contracts, fiscal strategic planning, arbitration, oversight of minor-league operations in Milwaukee and at the ECHL level and the hockey operations budget, all tasks he has been groomed for over the past number of seasons.
In addition, he will also act as the liaison between hockey operations and the organization's business departments, hockey facilities and Bridgestone Arena ventures. Brian Poile will also continue to carry out his responsibilities as the team's director of hockey operations, which include managing the payroll, salary cap, the team's analytics department, the training, medical and equipment staffs and the department's day-to-day business operations.
Nichol's new role as general manager of the Admirals, Nashville's top minor league affiliate that continues to produce players who excel for the Preds at the NHL level, is a natural fit for the veteran of 662 NHL contests as a player himself. Nichol and his family will be making the move to Tennessee over the summer as the former centerman also embraces the title of director of player development, with the opportunity to serve as a resource of Predators players and coaches throughout the season.
"That's why we're successful on the ice because we have a great team off the ice," Nichol said. "I'm excited for the challenge… and we're moving to Nashville because I want to learn the business side, I want to be in the meetings, I want to be part of the office, I want to just be a sponge and take as much knowledge as I can to learn and to grow."
As the younger Poile, Kealty and Nichol all settle into their new positions, David Poile is confident they'll do so with the same passion that got them here in the first place.
And with three of the brightest young minds in the game set to continue guiding the Predators to new heights, perhaps it was Brian Poile who said it best when it comes to what the trio is capable of under the winningest GM in NHL history.
"I really think this is a special team that we're building on the management side with my dad being [at the helm]," Brian said. "The three of us, Jeff, Scott and myself, we're young, we're hungry, we're competitive, we're willing to do anything and everything and I think we complement each other very well. We all have different things that we bring to the table, so I envision us really being able to help each other out on a daily basis, learn from each other and help us to try to build the strongest management team in the NHL.
"I love being a part of this group and I want to do everything I can, collectively, with our whole group, to bring a Cup to Nashville."