(photo credit:  Scott Paulus)

Still waiting for the official release to hit the presses, but defenseman Teemu Laakso has been recalled by the Predators.

UPDATE 1:07pm, Joshua Cooper from the Tennessean is tweeting that “Preds recall Teemu Laakso from Milwaukee per a team release.”  So it’s officially official now.

With road games on Saturday and Sunday, Nashville has apparently elected to carry a 7th defenseman on the roster.

While Laakso has had a nice start to the season, playing some solid D and contributing offensively to the tune of four assists in five games (that ties him for 3rd on the team in points), raise your hand if you are surprised that it’s not Aaron Johnson getting the call?

I’m raising my hand.

Johnson hadn’t played very well in his first four games, but he did play his best game Friday night in Grand Rapids.  Still, I thought his NHL experience would trump the underwhelming early season play.

If Laakso is up for the weekend, the Ads should still be fine on the defensive side of things, as it may open up the door for Scott Lehman to suit up for the first time this year.  And if Laakso is up for awhile, we’ll still be fine, as reports are saying that Roman Josi may be ready to go in about another week.

Game two of the Admirals’ first 3-in-3 set is tonight at the Bradley Center.

More update — Josh Cooper (who is still pretty awesome) has a blog post out there saying that part of the reason for Laakso’s call-up is due to some defensemen who are a little under the weather.  He may or may not play, but it’s good to have the flexibility just in case Cody Franson is horking up his lunch.