Predators Look to Add 'Speed and Skill' at NHL Draft

The 2023 NHL Draft order has been (partially) set, and the Nashville Predators' future is beginning to come into focus.

Unable to overcome the overwhelming odds in Monday's draft lottery and move up to No. 5, the Predators remained at No. 15, where they were slotted based on their record of 42-32-8 at the end of the 2022-23 regular season. The complete order of the first 16 picks, as determined by the lottery, is as follows:

\Picks Nos. 17 through 32 will be determined as the Stanley Cup playoffs play out.*

The No. 15 overall pick will be the first of many for Nashville in this year's draft, which will be held June 28-29 at Bridgestone Arena. Thanks in large part to their busy trade deadline, the Preds have amassed a staggering 13 picks - including two first-round picks, two second-round picks, three third-round picks, three fourth-round picks, two fifth-round picks and one sixth-round pick.

Assuming they remain at No. 15, the Predators will have no shortage of options with their first pick. Incoming General Manager Barry Trotz has signaled an interest in adding skill at the forward position, a message he reiterated following the first day of Nashville's amateur scout meetings on Monday.

"[The scouts] know what they're doing, and they've got a really good sense of what they want as a group," Trotz said. "Obviously what they want is also dictated a little bit by the direction of what we want to do. We want to be a higher scoring hockey team. We want to add speed and skill and build our top nine; those are things we need to do."

The Predators have chosen forwards with five of their last six first-round picks, including Joakim Kemell (2022), Fedor Svechkov (2021), Zachary L'Heureux (also 2021), Philip Tomasino (2019) and Eeli Tolvanen (2017). Nashville hasn't selected a defenseman in the first round since Dante Fabbro in 2016.

With a plethora of picks in 2023, the Predators have an opportunity to add to an already-rich arsenal of elite young talent in the organization.

"We could have as many as six first-round picks playing in Milwaukee next year, which is probably unheard of," Trotz said. "I've never heard of any team having that amount of high-end youth playing on a farm team, so I think it's an exciting time. And I think that we feel that it's time as well. As an organization, we were in that middle part of feeling that we have a pretty good hockey team and making the playoffs, but we were not quite there to really challenge to the next level. So taking a step back so we can rebuild it, [we can] hopefully build that core so it's really, really strong for a long time."

The Predators are in a unique position heading into this year's draft, where they have an opportunity to build their core without sacrificing the organization's commitment to a winning culture. While they may not find all of their missing pieces right away, a strong 2023 draft class can go a long way toward setting this team up for future success.

"I don't think it's in the Predators DNA to say, 'Hey, we're going to try to get the first pick overall,'" Trotz said. "That's probably never going to happen… So I think we are going to try to do it very creatively. We're going to do it with patience, and we're going to do what's necessary for us to be a contending team for a long, long time. That's a great feeling because it feels like you're starting something special."

Tickets for the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft™ are on sale now. Tickets start at just $65, but Predators

Season Ticket Citizens

will receive up to 70% off tickets for the Draft. To purchase tickets,

click here

.