With their earliest selection in more than a decade, the Predators selected Brady Martin from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft Friday night.

Martin, 18, is a center, a much-coveted position in hockey.

The 2025 Draft is the NHL’s first non-pandemic era decentralized draft. Most of the players who anticipated being early picks have gathered with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and other league brass in Los Angeles while team officials made their picks from their local markets, with the Predators doing so from Bridgestone Arena. Former Predators defenseman and Hockey Hall of Famer Shea Weber announced the selection of Martin via a video feed.

Unlike most of his draft-eligible counterparts, Martin did not make the trip to Los Angeles to take part in the draft festivities, instead choosing to remain at home in Ontario to work on the family farm and train while watching the event with a large group of friends and family. Instagram showed footage of Martin and his family watching his selection on a large television in a field raised up on a tractor.

“I was really excited when I heard my name called,” Martin said when speaking to the Nashville media via Zoom shortly after being selected.

In a media availability earlier in the week, Preds General Manager Barry Trotz mentioned the attractive group of draft-eligible centers this year. Franchise centers are difficult to come by in the draft, especially for the Predators, who have historically picked in the mid to late first round most years due to their frequent playoff appearances.

Martin, 6-foot, 186 pounds, is the third-highest player picked in franchise history, slotting behind Seth Jones (fourth overall) in 2013 and David Legwand (second overall) in the team’s inaugural draft in 1998.

Martin scored 33 goals and added 39 assists in 57 regular season games played this season. In five playoff games, he had two goals and two assists. He has also represented Canada in several international competitions.

In addition to his offensive numbers, Martin is highly regarded for his body checking ability, a characteristic that no doubt caught the eye of Trotz, a fan of hard-hitting players.

“I had a really good talk with Trotz,” Martin said. “He spoke of me pretty highly and liked me as a player.”

After a disappointing 2024-25 season for the Predators, instant improvement is not necessarily likely to come from Martin or any of the new draftees from this weekend. Unlike their NFL and NBA counterparts, most of the high NHL draft picks do not enter the league right away, usually returning to their junior or collegiate teams for further development. But with a strong showing in training camp, Martin could make it difficult for the Predators to send him back to his junior team.

Martin was the first of a franchise-high three first round picks for the Predators, who also hold the 23rd and 26th selections Friday night. The fifth pick was their own and the other two were obtained via trades. The Predators entered the seven-round draft with nine total selections.

The Predators development camp, which will feature several of the team’s draftees from this weekend as well as in recent years, runs June 29 through July 5, with on-ice practices at Centennial Sportsplex June 30 and July 1-3. The week will conclude with the team’s Future Stars game at Ford Ice Bellevue on July 5 at 10:30 a.m. The Centennial practices and the Future Stars game are open to the public.