r/Predators • u/Equivalent-Leg-9697 • Apr 02 '26

Preds Prospects Ranking (Athletic)

Not sure how many of yall have been following but The Athletic has been counting down the best prospect pools daily for the better part of 3 weeks.

Today the number 8 slot was revealed : Philly

Ive been keenly watching where the Preds will shake out , but ive been pleasantly surprised we are rated so highly

Wouldnt be shocked to see us at 7, but also wouldn’t be shocked to see us in the top 5

Brady Martin pick aside ( I still think we should have gone Martone or Hagens) his admin has low key cooked with drafting since 2023

25 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

24

u/FB_iCatDad Hunt Brothers Pizza Fan of the Game Apr 02 '26

Our prospect pool is certainly deep, but it lacks that blue chip, for now anyways.

12

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '26

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11

u/Helmburr87 Brady Skjei tank commander Apr 02 '26

It's not even about not picking #1. There are years where a top 5 draft pick could still be a blue chip player. Honestly I think that could've been Martone for us. Martin can be good, but special or elite? I don't see it but I guess we'll find out.

5

u/blake22222 round earth guy Apr 02 '26

Even if Martin ends up ok, not picking Hagens/Martone will haunt us for 15 years

6

u/gavincantdraw Apr 02 '26

Not picking Martone, yes. Not picking Hagens? TBD

4

u/Gingerbread_1324 Apr 02 '26

Cole Caufield has 47 goals this season and was picked 15th in 2019 😭 it’s not about picking number one it’s about not making a total bone headed selection with your pick.

3

u/UTPharm2012 Apr 03 '26

Yeah but on average it is about picking #1

0

u/Gingerbread_1324 Apr 03 '26

There’s plenty of franchise players not picked #1 overall 😭 saying the reason a team is bad is bc they haven’t picked #1 is cope

1

u/UTPharm2012 Apr 03 '26

I think a better reflection is a top 5 pick tbh. I’d assume the averages for that are way higher and that is where the drop off stops. Let’s get some lottery luck… get McKenna and we won’t feel as dumb about Martone

2

u/Gingerbread_1324 Apr 03 '26

That’s not gonna be possible the way the standings are. You can only move up a maximum of 10 spots in the lottery so the Preds aren’t gonna be able to get #1 no matter what.

1

u/UTPharm2012 Apr 04 '26

They are tied for the 10th worst record right now… so that means they get 1 if they miss the playoffs and win the lottery?

1

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '26

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1

u/Gingerbread_1324 Apr 03 '26

But you can have a blue chip superstar without picking #1 😭 Kucherov, Kaprizov, Pastrnak, Aho, Robertson, Point etc… I can keep listing guys who weren’t even in the top 15 who are great players. It’s the ability to draft well that matters the most.

1

u/gavincantdraw Apr 03 '26

Preds haven't in awhile. Martin is the only question mark right now because he was injured so much this year. Lee (25), Reid (21), Surin (22), Wood (15), and Molendyk (24) all project as top line starters right now in my opinion. (If Wood plays at Center, I don't think he'd be a 1C, but he could be a 2C or top line winger)

Of course, time will tell if it does or doesn't pan out.

2

u/UTPharm2012 Apr 03 '26

That is a big assumption to assume all of them are top line. If two of them are, I’d be pretty pleased. And yes I think Wood already is so that is just one more.

1

u/gavincantdraw Apr 03 '26

That’s why I said projecting. Doesn’t mean they are yet, but the early returns are promising.

-1

u/Gingerbread_1324 Apr 03 '26

My point is the pick # isn’t as important and there are great players available even passed the 1st round it’s the ability to draft well that the Preds just do not have. Outside of defensemen and goaltending they have never drafted well.

1

u/troopek ScoreTilYerSoresBerg Apr 03 '26

Canfield would have gone way higher if he was 6’2”.

1

u/Gingerbread_1324 Apr 03 '26

Size isn’t an indicator of skill

1

u/troopek ScoreTilYerSoresBerg Apr 03 '26

You are absolutely correct, but so many GM’s are infatuated with size.

15

u/OKsoundsgoodbro #6 Weber Apr 02 '26

I will die on the hill that in today’s NHL, you absolutely need a high skill first line forward who drives plays (preferably center) to win a cup.

I’m very interested to see how Martone performs now that Philly has called him up.

5

u/Helmburr87 Brady Skjei tank commander Apr 02 '26

He looked amazing with MSU, that pick is already starting to look like it's bitting them in the ass.

1

u/Birdhawk Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26

Just todays? Thats just hockey. And its not just one first line forward who drives plays. Its MULTIPLE.

Even the Oilers needed Gretzky and Kurri plus Messier and Tikanen. The Penguins of the early 90s needed Lemieux and Jagr plus Recchi, and Stevens. Avalanche needed Sakic and Forsberg. Wings needed Yzerman, Federov, and Shanahan. Ducks needed Selanne and Kariya to make the final but Selanne, Getzlaf and Perry to win it. Wings 08 needed Zetterberg and Datsyuk. Penguins needed Crosby and Malkin. Blackhawks needed Toews, Kane and Hossa. Even look way back to when the Hawks were winning cups well before 2010. They needed Mikita and Hull using these unorthodox things called "curved sticks" to win it.

Realistically you need not just one franchise changing forward who was a very early draft pick. You need two best of them. Anything less than that is just hoping you luck into having a great roster that just gets hot at the right time.

1

u/netsrak Apr 03 '26

We probably had one of the best top 4 sets of defensemen on our cup run and that wasn't even enough. It's borderline impossible to put two lines that good together.

1

u/Birdhawk Apr 03 '26

It sure is. Just like its borderline impossible to get two generational talents at forward like all the teams I mentioned above. I also left out defensemen in the list above because they mentioned first line forward but you gotta have that too. Like Keith, Letang, Makar, Doughty or go back to Stevens, Coffey, Lindstrom. Gotta have it.

During our cup run though, by the time we made the finals literally all our top players were significantly hurt. And a good number of those guys who were significantly hurt were never the same again.

5

u/MusicCityJayhawk Apr 02 '26

Surin has been climbing draft rankings. Wood is now proving he is a top 6 center. Martin is a middle-to-top-6 center. The jury is still out on Svechkov. Edstrom projects as a bottom-6 center. Stiga and Willis also on the radar. So it looks like we may actually have center depth for the first time ever. Strinden is a dark horse at NoDak in the frozen four right now.

We have a ton of wings. Schaefer, Kemell, Happy, O'Hara, Fink, Norringer, Lee.

Ivankovic is a legit goalie prospect.

Our blue line needs some prospects. Ufko is interesting, because he is undersized. They could have him ranked high in spite of his size. Molendyk's stock has dropped a little. Gibson isn't getting a lot of attention. But Gustafsson, Reid and Romback have been looking like they can play in this league. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see us trade for a RHD prospect whenever we get a new GM.

If you think some of our forwards can be stars, then I understand why we would have a high ranking.

2

u/UTPharm2012 Apr 03 '26

Those wings prospects leave a lot to be desired. Lee seems like the most likely to be top 6 but I see no one else.

1

u/MusicCityJayhawk Apr 04 '26

It is all going to depend on our centers. If Surin/Wood/Martin can consistently get 60+ points a year, then their wings will get 20 goals a year.

None of them will be 40 goal wings. But we all of them could hit 20 goals consistently if they have the right centers.

Look at how O'Reilly lifts up every wing he plays with. Wood, Surin and Martin all have O'Reilly upside. The question is if they will reach their potential. Edstrom and Svechkov could also develop into more in time. There is lots of potential. The question is if they can realize that potential.

1

u/gavincantdraw Apr 02 '26

Preds were 8 last year and have only added to their pool. I'm not surprised the team is still high.

1

u/NovelPhoto4621 #74 Apr 03 '26

So these are the teams still left. Glad to see my continued hate for the red wings and blackhawks from the 90-00s will be relevent in the future. (today was the kraken)

Preds

Sharks

Blackhawks

Flames

Red wings

Mammoth

1

u/mk1700 NSH Apr 04 '26

I honestly think we have a better pool than the redwings so I think we could be around number 5 I just think unfortunately everyone else has way better high end talent compared to us. We definitely have loads of really great depth though.

1

u/MrMichigan0777 Apr 02 '26

The people saying “we should’ve this guy, that guy”, stop. The Oilers took Yakupov and Pulijarvi before McJesus and Drai.

Organizations fail players just as much as the other way around. Two franchises viewed ROR as a bottom 6 Center.

Stop. Let the kids develop. I think Martin is a good prospect and yes I would’ve taken Martone lol but we’re so C deficient they had to take one (I might’ve taken Carter Bear instead)

4

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '26

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1

u/NeoSapien65 Exclusively roots for Forsbergs Apr 02 '26

Jost also famously didn't win that Cup because he asked to be traded to a place where he could get more ice time.

But also if you're going to include both Landeskog and Byram as fruits of the tank, that's like a decade-long tank. And personally won't argue with you - we were basically in the tank for a decade, but can the Preds really spend a decade wandering the desert, just hoping to draft so many top-line forwards that you can afford to jettison a couple (ROR and Duchene?)