BREAKING: Nashville Predators and Barry Trotz Select Brady Martin 5th Overall, CONTROVERSIAL Pick?

the pick is in the Nashville Predators have made their first selection in the 2025 NHL draft i’m Rachel Donner joined now by Ann Kimmel of Locked on Predators and the Nashville Predators have selected Brady Martin with the fifth overall pick and and like he was definitely somebody that rose toward the draft are you surprised by this pick yes and no on the one hand I am surprised you know we know the Predators are desperate need for a center so figured they would take a center but with James Hagens available I think everybody anticipated that Barry Trotz would take Hagens i am not surprised because Brady Martin is the prototypical Barry Trotz pick one of the things that Barry Trotz talks about is how much he loves players who have a high compete level their motor is always going and that is exactly how you would describe Brady Martin’s game so on the one hand I’m surprised by who he didn’t pick i’m not terribly surprised by who Barry Trotz did go with in this draft
yeah so speaking of Barry Trotz how does he fit into the plan that Trotz is trying to put together right now for the Pres
it’s interesting there really wasn’t going to be a player even with the fifth overall pick who was really ready to jump into the NHL and help the team in what we’re calling the now and not yet the now portion of their plan but I do think Brady Martin is a great selection for them as they look ahead to the not yet he very much is like I said a Barry Trot style of player this is a position that the Predators do not have a lot of depth at and I think that the Predators want to be mindful of the way the game tends to be going as far as side physicality and um skill speed and I think Brady Martin checks some of those big boxes for Barry Trot maybe a little bit more so than somebody like a James Hagens would have right now Brady Martin is known as a two-way physical center uh but he does attack through the middle a lot in his game which he will not be able to do at the NHL level at least not right away do you think he can adjust his game accordingly i think that’s definitely one of the areas where they’re going to really work on with him is how do you take the game that he has and that he plays naturally and how do you adapt it and what edges do you smooth out to make him NHL ready i do think the Predators want to get more towards that style they want to get bigger they want to get more physical but I do think that you’re going to see a a growth a learning curve for Brady Martin maybe more so when it comes to style of play than you would have for some other prospects i do think he’s going to be a really interesting fit as you look at the kind of not yet portion for the Predators um let’s see what he can do you know we talk about his motor we talk about his size but he is also somebody who has a great scoring touch he’s great at seeing the ice so there’s a lot of upside and they’re going to really want to lean in and grow him in that at the NHL level yeah and one of the other things that I noticed about his game is that he’s really good netfront and has some really good tipin kind of goals he’s not like a flashy goal scorer but he can get net front and get those dirty goals is that something that Barry Trotz likes a lot that curls his toes and that’s something that the Nashville Predators really struggled to get even this year and like we said Brady Martin’s not going to come in and fix all of that in the 2526 season but that is what they’re looking for they’re looking for that heavy presence in front of the net they’re looking for those greasy goals those are the players that they are leaning into in free agency and I think as we look ahead the rest of this weekend at the draft so given all of that how do you expect the rest of the draft to go for the PRs yeah this is going to be really interesting the Predators came in tonight with nine picks overall i think Barry Trotz would be interested in maybe making a trade but it’s very hard to say if he can get that done and if he can find the right partner nashville very well may come home with nine new players from this draft i do think they are going to be looking next at a defenseman they want to shore up the defensive pipeline they are also very clear that they are looking at a goalender and that’s a position I think they may look for in the first round so we’re keeping an eye on those two late round picks that the Predators have all right well for more on Brady Martin and the rest of the PR’s picks in this year’s NHL draft check out Locked on Predators on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day

The Nashville Predators have made a bold, and some might say controversial, move at the 2025 NHL Draft, selecting forward Brady Martin with the 5th overall pick! This pick is already being debated as potentially the first big reach of the first round.
While Martin, a physical two-way forward from the Soo Greyhounds, brings a strong work ethic and good defensive instincts, he was largely projected outside the top-5, with other higher-ranked offensive talents still on the board. He posted 72 points in 57 OHL games this season, but his offensive ceiling and high-end skill raise questions at this spot.

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