Providence top scorer Wilkins forgoes senior season with Friars, signs free-agent deal with Nashville

Josh Wilkins (photo: Stew Milne)
Josh Wilkins led Providence in scoring this season with 20 goals and 46 points in 40 games (photo: Stew Milne).
The Nashville Predators announced Thursday that the team has signed Providence junior forward Josh Wilkins to a two-year, entry-level contract.Wilkins helped lead the Friars to their fifth Frozen Four appearance in school history in 2018-19 and capped off his junior campaign with a career-high 46 points (20 goals, 26 assists) in 40 games. He led the Friars and was ninth in the country in points, and his 20 goals – also a career best – were 10th among all NCAA players.Among the top three on his team in scoring during all three of his college seasons, Wilkins was a 2019 All-American and a 2019 First Team Hockey East All-Star.He closed out his time at Providence with 108 points (48 goals, 60 assists) in 119 games.Wilkins, a Raleigh, N.C., native, is a product of the TPH Thunder youth program, which merged with the Nashville Jr. Predators last December, captaining its 16U team in 2013-14.