Predators’ Vitali Pinchuk Out With Upper-Body Injury

One of the Nashville Predators’ newest forwards will miss the next few days because of an injury. According to Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean, forward Vitali Pinchuk is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

There is plenty of excitement around Pinchuk’s first year with the Predators. The 24-year-old center received interest from more than half of the league last year when his intentions to play in North America became known. Ultimately, he signed a one-year, $1.025MM contract with Nashville to test his mettle against the best in the world.

Given how many roster moves the Predators have made this summer, particularly to their forward corps, there’s every reason to think Pinchuk will be allowed the opportunity to thrive. However, a top-six role won’t be handed to him; that much is clear.

Despite going undrafted, Pinchuk is one of the better prospects to come out of the KHL in recent years. NHL interest in his services began during the 2024-25 season after the Zhlobin, Belarus, native scored 25 goals and 43 points in 66 games with the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk. He further boosted his overseas interest, registering five goals and 11 points in 11 postseason games during the 2025 Gagarin Cup playoffs.

Then, Pinchuk further solidified an NHL opportunity if he wanted it. He tied for sixth in scoring in the KHL, finishing with 31 goals and 66 points in 65 games with a +21 rating, again with Dinamo. In the playoffs, Pinchuk added two goals and seven points in eight games.

There’s no expectation that Pinchuk will resume his point-per-game production in the NHL, though it does explain why the Predators were such an intriguing fit. Nashville’s top-six was affected by injuries last season, so the forward corps was largely led by Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly, Steven Stamkos, and Luke Evangelista.

Evangelista has moved on to the New Jersey Devils, and the former three aren’t getting any younger, opening a gap for Pinchuk to become one of the team’s more effective secondary contributors.