2025 NHL Draft Media Availability – Cameron Reid (23rd Overall, Nashville Predators)
cam
how’s it feel
oh unreal um kind of speechless i mean this is the day you think about for every single day leading up to it so it’s uh truly uh truly is a dream come true
did you think Nashville was an option for you
yeah I definitely think so i mean especially with the picks they had and the range they had i mean you never know what happens but as we got closer to you know them picking um it kind of uh it kind of seemed like uh it could have happened and it did
uh how would you say your game has grown over this year in catching
yeah I think it just stepped up in every single role i think the versatility part I mean whether it was defensive offensive or any any impact like on the ice I think that was the biggest thing for me that I stepped up that um this this uh past year compared my first year what does that organization mean to getting you here
oh everything i mean just you can name everything that they have there i mean you can go from the arena to the coaches to the fans to the teammates whatever the case is just prepare me really well to get to to hopefully uh you know get to the next level as fast as I can
cameron you go 21 overall brady M goes five overall some familiarity there
too yeah we know each other we played spring hockey together ever since we were like you know maybe seven or eight so uh he’s not too far away from me too yeah I think he’s uh just over an hour drive away um just outside Kitchener when I’m in Kitchener it’s not too far but you know he’s a he’s a great guy great player obviously too but uh I love Marty he’s a great guy
how cool is that to be you know you’re going to be hanging out at development camp together i know it’s sick like it’s so sick to think about like started off as kids and that’s when we first knew each other and we kind of just grown and now we’re around 18 years of age um going into development camp in Nashville so I mean like that’s just nuts to think about you know to that that happening you just It’s just crazy
you mentioned having a feeling it could be Nashville do you remember any conversations with them leading up to this
yeah I mean I definitely I spoke to them at the combine i thought that interview went well um spoke to them a couple times during the season um just normal interviews but I just felt like uh I’m a player that they they would really want and uh they should get and um right right now I’m so happy that I’m drafted i just got to prove myself right to them do
you have any thoughts on it being Asheville not only from an organization standpoint or a city standpoint anything like that
yeah well first thing that pops in my head is my mom she loves country and she loves Nashville so I mean that’s the that’s the big thing i’ve been to Nashville once i loved it and uh never got to go to a Predators game but um it’s uh it’s something where I’ I’ve heard only great things about Nashville and hockey there
what’s the coolest part about all this
just having your dream come true i mean that’s that’s literally it i mean ever since I can remember from being a kid and for every single day I thought about this day leading up to it and for it to be here it’s uh something I definitely won’t will never forget what’s this week been like for you nuts i mean just unreal like you can’t really believe it it’s actually happening like I said like it’s like a dream that you’re living in the dream and it’s a reality and that’s the craziest part to me
the people that helped get you here obviously surrounded by family and friends the whole week in LA just how nice is it to spend this whole week surrounded by them
yeah I mean they they’re the ones that got me here i wouldn’t be here without them i mean from my parents driving me to practices um to friends supporting me no matter what the situation was i mean it’s uh it’s unreal for them to spend it here with me you know it’s uh just as much as a dream for me as it is for them you told me you had a season where you to find a place to play in Sarnia cuz things didn’t work out that feel weird now to be a first round NHL pick after things like that
yeah well especially playing with Jack Nesbet i mean we played together growing up and think we were both first rounders so it just would have been nuts to us we would have freaked out if we told our younger selves that so it’s just uh it’s not it’s just crazy to think about you know how you developed and just grew into a different player
you got to go back to the beginning of the season and tell yourself how small what he say
yeah myself would definitely be going crazy i mean he he would love it i I mean um I just thought I just thought all year just work hard see where see what happens i mean it all depends um how hard you work and I think that’s the only thing you can control it’s just your attitude and how hard you work pitcher Ranger has been picked in the first round of the NHL draft since 2012 how cool is it to add your name to a list of some of the guys who would come out of that franchise
yeah that’s that’s pretty sick i didn’t know about that so you know kind of end that drought I guess but Kitcher’s always been great for pretty much all the years they’ve been uh been an organization so I don’t know that’s a that’s a weird stat to hear about but that’s uh that’s pretty cool that I could do that
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1 comment
Congrats cam! So proud of how far you've come and how hard you've worked to get here