Ozzy Wiesblatt tipped Michael Bunting’s centering pass into the net and looked instantly relieved.
Finally, after 28 games for the Nashville Predators, he’d scored his first NHL goal.
But another emotion replaced his relief instantly. With a bittersweet smile, he pointed to up to the sky.
Remembering his brother, Orca.
“I’ve thought about pointing to the sky for my brother for a while now,” Wiesblatt said at Bridgestone Arena after the Predators’ 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Dec. 2. “Just a cool feeling. That was for him.”
While Ozzy was in training camp with Nashville (9-13-4, 22 points) on Sept. 14, news broke that his brother, Orca Wiesblatt, died in a car accident in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Orca, the second oldest of five Wiesblatt children, Ocean, Ozzy, Oasiz, and younger sister Oceania, was 25.
Orca played 37 games for the Athens Rock Lobsters (FPHL) and had signed a deal with the Allen Americans (ECHL) for the 2025-26 season. His death rocked the hockey community, not only in Calgary, where the Wiesblatt’s call their home, but with everyone in the Predators‘ organization: with Ozzy in Nashville, younger brother Oasiz signed a three-year contract with the Milwaukee Admirals last spring.
With his goal against Calgary, Ozzy believes he can now properly honor his brother’s memory.
“Just a huge relief for me,” he said. “I know (my family is) proud of me, they don’t have to tell me that. Hopefully I’m making my family proud every day. I do the best I can.”
A punchy, energetic winger, Wiesblatt’s first goal was long overdue. He’s been a workhorse on the Predators’ fourth line, often getting under the skin of opponents and diverting attention away from the more skilled players. On that note, he also recorded his second NHL fight against the Flames, dropping the gloves with Blake Coleman in the third period.
Though, while the first goal was devoted to his late brother, he admitted his fight was more a crime of passion.
“I just got hit and wanted to defend myself,” he explained “Too bad (center Michael McCarron) wasn’t there to defend me for the 100th time. Just one those things I felt like I had to.”
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.