Brady Martin had 1 assist for Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators finally made a decision on Brady Martin, sending him back to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the season.
The decision comes three games into Martin’s NHL career, six games shy of the nine-game cutoff required by the CHL-NHL agreement on teenage drafted players. Martin, the Predators’ No. 5 overall pick in the 2025 draft, heads back to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) for 2025-26. He cannot return to Nashville until the 2026-27 season.
At Predators‘ practice at Centennial Sportsplex, general manager Barry Trotz explained that though the organization was happy with Martin’s showing, ultimately they felt it was best for Martin’s long-term development to send him back to juniors.
“He needs to play a lot more minutes, he needs to have the puck a little bit more,” Trotz said. “He needs to be a dominant player at his level.”
Martin skated 11:25 minutes per game for Nashville, recording one assist, one shot on goal and two blocked shots. Though he skated with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly on the top line to open the season, he was moved down the lineup in his next two games and was a healthy scratch for all four games of a road trip. He will have top-line minutes with Sault St. Marie, and could be selected to Team Canada for the world junior championships.
Though the team won’t see Martin until next season, Trotz is happy with what he saw from his top draft pick.
“I never expected (Martin) to be on the opening day roster, and he made it, so that’s a positive for him. Both for him as a player and for us a franchise,” Trotz said.
Martin’s top skills as a player are his strength on the puck and his physicality on the defensive end. But after his first game, he admitted that he “needed to hit the weight room” if he wanted to win battles with NHL players. Trotz had discussions with Martin — who is listed at 6-foot, 185 pounds — about gaining “good weight” and coming in next year with a bit more bulk.
Trotz said Martin was also honest about what the level of competition was like in the NHL, expressing some surprise at the effort needed.
“(Martin) said one of the biggest things is how hard you have to play,” Trotz recalled. “You can’t take a breath. In junior (hockey), every once in a while you can take a breath. You can’t take a breath (in the NHL) because they make you pay. It’s a very unforgiving league.”
Sending Martin back to junior hockey coincides with a four-game losing streak for Nashville (2-3-2, 6 points), most recently a 5-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 21. Trotz said the move to send Martin back was not affected by the team’s start.
“It’s more about the development path for him,” Trotz said. “I think for the most part, we’ve started much better than last year. There’s lots of positive vibes. But at the same time, our good young prospects have got to play. For (Martin), that’s about getting touches and if he’s the go-to guy in every situation, that’s what you want.”
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex atjdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.