Nashville Predators defenseman Drake Berehowsky (left) signs the hat of 11-year-old Luke Townsend of Bowling Green on Thursday as defenseman Kent Sauer looks on. The Predators were in town for an autograph session and also held a clinic on how to play hockey. Luke is the son of Don and Janet Townsend. Photo by Paul Conrad/Daily News

The NHLs Nashville Predators got such an overwhelming response from Bowling Green during their visit last year that they again made the city one of their first two caravan stops Thursday. Bowling Green was the Predators first caravan stop during the hockey players seven-city tour in 1998; the number of cities jumped to 10 this year. By months end, the caravan will have stopped in Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. Bowling Green was our first stop last year and we got a great response from everybody that came, said Alexis Herbster, the expansion teams community relations coordinator. Its a great market. The team conducted a hockey clinic and an autograph session at the Warren County Roller Hockey Leagues rink Thursday. The Tennessee-based Predators, who were represented by defensemen Drake Berehowsky and Kent Sauer and center David Legwand on Thursday, also expanded their caravan visit to a second city in Kentucky Louisville. The caravan will pay a visit to Louisville its last stop on Aug. 30.I think everybody around Nashville supports us really well, and we wanted to give something back to the communities, Predators defenseman Drake Berehowsky said. I think there are a lot of Nashville fans this way, and we hope we give something to them. … We enjoy meeting everybody and getting out and meeting the communities because the fans have been so great to us. For Kim Clark of Bowling Green, the players visit was a dream come true for sons Dustin, 12, and Holden, 11. The visit was especially a treat for Dustin, who plays in the Warren County Roller Hockey League. Hes a big hockey fan and he wanted to come out here and see if he could learn some things to enhance his own hockey skills, said Clark, who sat in the bleachers with Holden, a football player, while they watched Dustin and several others interact with the professional hockey players. I think its wonderful. … Its a good opportunity for more kids to get involved in hockey out here. The Predators may return to Bowling Green next summer, Herbster said. I think so, Berehowsky said. I think they realize theres a good fan base here and that hockey is a growing thing in Kentucky.