The Nashville Predators Surprised a Lot of People at the NHL Draft but What Was Behind Their Picks?

The Nashville Predators Surprised a Lot of People at the NHL Draft but What Was Behind Their Picks?

the Nashville Predators had three picks in the first round and five in the first two but how did they do in the draft and Kimmel of Locked on Predators here to talk about that and look ahead to free agency next on today’s Locked on NHL podcast you’re Locked on NHL your daily podcast on the National Hockey League part of the Locked on Podcast Network your team every day gil Martin here welcome everybody to the Monday edition of the Lockdown NHL podcast we’re part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day i want to thank everyone who makes Locked on NHL your first listen every day don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel right now new FanDuel customers can get $150 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins it is my pleasure to welcome back to the show the co-host of Locked on Predators Anne Kimmel and there weren’t too many teams busier than the Nashville Predators at the NHL draft what was your first impression of how the team did you know that’s such a hard question to answer you and I were talking uh before we started the episode about how difficult it is to evaluate a draft in the moments after i will say that I think some of the picks were surprising but I do think that there is an avenue that Barry Trotz is looking down and these picks are very much headed in that direction so I do think that uh they made some interesting picks i think they made some surprising picks but I don’t know that that’s entirely bad for the Predators
so what is the avenue that Barry Trotz is looking to go down
i really think when you look at the draft uh and the selections that the Predators made it almost feels like this draft was very heavily influenced by what we saw in the Stanley Cup finals and by the style of play that the Florida Panthers executed all the way through the playoffs and I do feel like that really is influencing maybe the direction Barry Trotz went with some specific picks as far as the physicality of the game and being sturdy in the game not just offensive prowess but also you know really looking for players who are going to be sturdy and physical in the game so it feels like some of these picks were made more specifically because Barry Trotz feels like that is the direction the league is going in that’s the direction you’re going to have to play if you’re going to be successful and I feel like it’s reflected in some of these picks
so out of the picks who who do you think fit that description the best great question i’m actually I am a Brady Martin apologist uh it was a very surprising pick even for me who has liked this young man for a while this was a surprising pick because Barry Trotz had James Hagens he had Porter Martone available as well but I do think Brady Martin is a great example of that Florida Panthers style of pick now he is known for his physicality he is known for that motor always running he compares himself to Sam Bennett uh that style of play that kind of uh hunger for the game and always moving he also has an offensive upside that I think that physicality overshadows and I think that balance may be something that works well for the Nashville Predators if they’re really looking to play more of that evolving style of hockey
and how about the other two first round picks you go with defenseman Cameron Reed and then Riker Lee a forward where do they fit into the organization eventually
cameron Reed is a really interesting pick the pres traded up for him uh he is a defenseman but here is what I think is interesting about him he has such an offensive upside to his game and one of the things that the Nashville Predators fan base and I’m certain the front office is aware of is that Roman Yosi is getting a little bit older he is hockey old I guess is what we want to call it and so the franchise really has to start being mindful about what will this team look like what will this franchise look like when Roman Yosi opts to retire and this is somebody who is the offensive defenseman he is the quarterback of the power play he’s a Norse trophy winning defenseman i’m not saying Cameron Reed is the next Roman Yosi but I am saying the Predators want somebody of that same type you know that same mold to be in the pipeline for the future without Roman Yosi and as far as the prospect pool overall is concerned what is the greatest need right now and what is the strength
the greatest need is hands down centers uh that was something we knew with the fifth overall pick one of the questions about Porter Marone is this is a fantastic player and a goal scorer but he’s not a center and the Nashville Predators there is a void in center depth for this team now and also in the pipeline so I think that that was something that they wanted to address they selected a lot of defensemen which is something in the pipeline that they knew they wanted to sort of restock in so I think that’s reflected in the draft nashville is great at developing defensemen and goalenders people still question how they do developing wingers and centers so I think that that’s going to be the question Nashville has to answer in the near future what are they going to do with the talent that they have the offensive talent that they have can they develop them into top tier NHL players that’s going to be the biggest challenge for Nashville when it comes to developing the players in the pipeline free agency starts Tuesday uh how much cap room do the PRs have and what do you expect them to do after a few things they did last year didn’t exactly work out as hoped
yeah I think everybody is very cautious when it comes to free agency this year july 1st 2024 it was a party in Nashville friends I will tell you the season not as festive for the Predators i think Barry Trotz believes that last year’s big free agency fish that he signed are going to turn some things around but there are still needs that he has to address this off seasonason i think the most important thing is defensively the Nashville Predators need a top tier defenseman to play with Roman Yosi people are tossing around some names i don’t know how tempting Nashville is when it comes to the free agency market when you look at how things went last year with the player additions so I think it’s a little bit of a sell for Nashville this year if they want to attract that top tier defensive talent or that top tier talent i also think Barry Trotz is going to be shopping around again for a center we really like Marco Rossy and think he could be a great fit here in Nashville it’s going to be a question of whether the Nashville Predators want to dig into all that it would take to tempt Marco Rossi and to get things worked out with the Minnesota Wild you know that’s a whole different situation so I think they’re going to be looking for some center depth i think they are going to be definitely looking for a defenseman it’s going to be interesting to see how tempting Nashville is this year though and how much cap space do they have to work with at this point
that is actually a great question they don’t have as much as they would like to have and I will tell you one of the reasons why is they are paying Matt Duchain $6.5 million next season it’s the peak of his buyout uh they’re paying him $6.5 million to score goals for a Central Division rival so that is taking up some space for the Nashville Predators they are um willing to spend i think Barry Trotz is willing to spend up to the cap because he does still believe that this is a team if he can put some pieces together could be competitive now again you’ve got to get the talent here you’ve got to be able to afford the talent and then you’ve got to compete with that talent in a really tough central division if this team doesn’t show market improvement in this Barry Trotz’s second year as GM does the seat start to get a little hot for him i think it does i think that it does and it’s interesting because Barry Trotz is very generous and understanding with Andrew Brunette who was kind of on a hot seat at the end of last season and I think will be under the microscope at the start of the season barry Trotz has a lot of grace for him because this is a newish head coach and he wants to develop a coach the flip side of that is Barry Trotz is a new GM
right
and he is going to have to figure out how much ownership is going to have grace for him as he grows into a very different role i do think he’s going to be on the hot seat i think it would go a long way if last year’s free agency signings Steven Stam coach Jonathan Marcho Brady Sheay really come in this season and find their footing and are successful i think he needs to make a couple of moves in free agency that pay off right away that’s going to cool the temperature just a bit just a bit
and what do you think it takes to get these free agents who disappointed a year ago to reach their potential or their expectations this year i think some of it comes down to something as simple as a metaphorical saging of the locker room i think that you had two players in Marcho and Stamos who both wanted to stay where they were and that’s tough no matter how great the money is no ha no matter what kind of term you get on a contract there is a component of you are uprooting your family and you’re leaving a team that you thought that you were going to be with so I think a little bit of time will help with that i think also internally hard conversations have to be had among the players and with the coaching staff when it comes to expectations so I think a lot of it is familiarity i do think time will help some but Barry Trotz also needs to make a couple of moves to really give this roster just a little bit more punch to take off it’s going to be important for the Predators to have a good start to the season so there is some pressure on these guys to turn it around really quickly all right it’s going to be an interesting off season i know that ann why don’t you tell our viewers and our listeners where they could find the podcast and where they could find you and your co-host on social media
well you can find the podcast wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts we are of course also on YouTube you can follow the podcast on social media at l predators i’m on social media at ank_mama on Ice and my fabulous co-host Emma Lingan is on social media at Emma Lingan as well
all right Ann thanks so much
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The Nashville Predators had three picks in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft but their selections surprised a lot of people.

Ann Kimmel of Locked On Predators joins us to break down the strategy behind Barry Trotz’s picks in this year’s draft and what to expect in free agency this year after a disappointing return on their investments a year ago.

All this and more on today’s Locked On NHL Podcast with Gil Martin.

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