May 22, 2013
Notre Dame, Ind. – Former Notre Dame hockey captain, Mark Van Guilder `08, has signed a two-year, two-way contract with the National Hockey League’s Nashville Predators. The announcement was made by Predators’ President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile.
Van Guilder, 29, who played for the Fighting Irish from 2004-08 just completed his fourth season with Nashville’s American Hockey League affiliate – the Milwaukee Admirals. The Roseville, Minn., native finished the 2012-13 season fifth on the Admirals in scoring with 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points. He also was named the Admirals’ Man of the Year and is a finalist for the AHL’s Yanick Dupre Memorial Award for the third consecutive season for his outstanding contributions to the Milwaukee community.
In his four seasons in Milwaukee, Van Guilder has recorded 36 goals and 48 assists for 84 points in 241 career games. This season, he helped the Admirals to a second-place finish in the Midwest Division of the AHL’s Western Conference with a 41-28-4-3 record, good for 89 points, just three behind division leader Grand Rapids. Milwaukee fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Texas Stars, three games to one.
Since graduating from Notre Dame in 2008, Van Guilder has played parts of two seasons in the East Coast Hockey League with the Cincinnati Cyclones (2008-10) while also seeing playing time with the Hamilton Bulldogs and Milwaukee in those two seasons before moving up to Milwaukee during the 2009-10 season where he has played since. His best pro season scoring-wise came in 2008-09 when he had 26 goals and 44 assists for 70 points in 65 games with Cincinnati. His totals this year were career bests with the Admirals.
At Notre Dame, Van Guilder never missed a game, playing in 163 career contests, notching 42 goals with 56 assists for 98 career points. His best season came in 2006-07 when he had 18 goals and 16 assists for 34 points. He served as team captain of the 2007-08 team that advanced to the 2008 National Championship game against Boston College in Denver, Colo. He also was a member of the first CCHA regular-season and postseason championship teams in 2006-07.
During his senior year, the 6-1, 186-pound forward was one of 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. He won Notre Dame’s Most Improved Player Award following the 2005-06 season. He is second on Notre Dame’s all-time games played list with 163 and is the school’s all-time “Iron Man,” having played in 163 consecutive contests during his Irish career. He graduated from the University with a degree in sociology from the College of Arts and Letters in May of 2008.