In an NHL Draft loaded with talented young centers, it’s easy to forecast the Predators — who are organizationally needy in the middle — selecting one of those players with the No. 5 overall pick on Friday.

The Preds may have a veritable buffet of center options available when they choose, a group that could include the likes of Anton Frondell, James Hagens, Caleb Desnoyers, Roger McQueen, Jake O’Brien and Brady Martin.l

But despite what logic might dictate, the Preds could choose to go in a different positional direction with that fifth pick, Nashville’s highest since selecting Seth Jones No. 4 overall in 2013.

The name to watch if that happens is right wing Porter Martone, a 6-3, 204-pound power forward who totaled 98 points (37 goals, 61 assists) in 57 games for Brampton in the Ontario Hockey League last season.

Ranked the No. 3 overall prospect by The Athletic, No. 3 by TSN and No. 4 by ESPN, Martone offers an intriguing combination of size and skill. The most common knock on Martone is that he lacks speed. But his other attributes — which include an underrated playmaking ability — seem to more than compensate.

Would the Preds really pass on a center, despite the fact the team’s minor-league system doesn’t necessarily have a top-six future NHL-er at that position?

Writing from Los Angeles, the site of the two-day draft, one analyst on Thursday said it could happen.

“I think [Hagens] makes a lot of sense for the Preds at No. 5 — and I’d take him there — [but] they’ve shown a lot of interest in Martone throughout this year, and I think he’s likely their selection if he’s there,” The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler wrote.

“If Martone goes before the Preds’ pick at No. 5, which is a real possibility, I could see Nashville circle back to Hagens.”

Predators General Manager Barry Trotz said Tuesday the organization is fortunate there are a number of good centers available in this draft.

He touched on the 5-11, 177-pound Hagens, the Boston College standout whose lack of size is considered the only potential drawback to a player blessed with outstanding skill, speed and playmaking ability.

“He’s a player right in our wheelhouse and in those [possibilities at No. 5],” Trotz said. “He’s a tremendous player.”

Would size be a concern? In response to that question, Trotz brought up the Preds’ Jonathan Marchessault, a 5-9, 185-pound forward who has scored 251 career NHL goals and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP when Vegas won the Stanley Cup in 2023.

“If you take [Marchessault’s] career and you say, ‘He couldn’t play because he wasn’t 6-foot-2,’ then you’re making a big mistake,” Trotz said. “This guy has won the Stanley Cup and been a playoff MVP. So, sometimes the yardstick isn’t and shouldn’t be the deciding factor.”

But Trotz certainly didn’t write off the idea of drafting Martone at No. 5.

In fact, he noted the 2018 NHL Draft, when Montreal chose the top available center, Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the third overall pick, passing on wing Brady Tkachuk in the process. Tkachuk, taken fourth overall, has made a far bigger impact on the NHL level.

“There’s a little bit probably more need [for the Predators at center],” Trotz said. “But if you look at [Montreal in 2018], they’d probably want Brady Tkachuk [in hindsight].

“So, we’re going to look at the best player, and if there’s a big discrepancy [between two prospects], then position won’t matter. But if there’s very little [discrepancy], we’ll probably go a little more positional. But [Martone] would be a great pick at five.”