"I've waited a pretty long time for this opportunity, so I'm trying to make the best of it, and it's been an unbelievable experience so far," Liambas said after Friday's practice at Centennial Sportsplex, where he took rushes playing the right wing on the fourth line. "Just to be around the guys off the ice is great. I've been smiling the whole time."
For Head Coach Peter Laviolette and his staff, there was more to the call-up than to just let Liambas hang around the team for a few days.
"In talking to [Admirals Head Coach] Dean Evason, Mike has done a really good job again in his role," Laviolette said. "Just playing an up-and-down game, he's physical and he earned the call up."
"I think I've been playing pretty well down in Milwaukee, and I'm just going to keep doing what I do that's made me successful," Liambas said. "I'm not going to change anything now that I'm up here."
Known for his physical play, Liambas has one goal and 29 penalty minutes in 16 games this season for the Admirals, a team that he also spent time with from 2012-15. Liambas signed with the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones after skating at the University of British Columbia in 2011, eventually working his way to the AHL level with Milwaukee. In 2013-14 with the Ads, he registered 267 penalty minutes in 60 games.
"I always want to keep my foot on the pedal and especially here, they're like a dog on a chain, they want to have that attitude and play with a chip on your shoulder and I feel like that fits my game perfectly," Liambas said. "I want to keep it simple… and just bring that energy every shift. I think that's what I've been doing my whole life. That's what I've been doing in Milwaukee, and that's what I plan on doing here."
After a year away from the organization in 2015-16, Liambas signed a one-year deal this summer to come back to Nashville, and although he's yet to skate in an NHL game, he's closer than he's ever been to adding that to his resume.
But no matter what, Liambas knew he wanted to come back to the organization when the chance presented itself. And he continues to make the best of things.
"Nashville has always done a great job of bringing in good people," Liambas said. "Just in the locker room, it's always been a great group of guys and that shows in Milwaukee, it shows in Cincinnati with the Nashville guys that are down there, and that goes a long way when you have a good group of guys in the locker room. It shows out on the ice, and I've noticed that since Day One. They've always been bringing in great people, which is really good to see because it translates to the ice."
Notes:
Preds forward Colin Wilson, who sat out Thursday's practice with a maintenance day, was back on the ice with his teammates on Friday. Defenseman Ryan Ellis (day-to-day, upper-body) did not practice on Friday, but did on Thursday.
