The Nashville Predators, as of right now, will have two chances in the first round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft to find a top-of-the-lineup prospect. And, with how deep this draft class is, they may be able to find another in round two. Picking at 46th and 47th, Nashville’s scouts will have a myriad of choices at all three positions.
Nashville’s 1st-Round Draft Board
Below is a look at six players Nashville could be looking at for those two selections with a breakdown of what kind of game they would bring to the organization.
Hunter Brzustewicz (D) | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) | 6’0″, 187 lbs. | PBR Rank: 39th
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | PTS |
| 2021-22 | U.S. National U18 Team | NTDP | 55 | 2 | 18 | 20 |
| 2022-23 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 61 | 6 | 51 | 57 |
While Nashville’s forward pipeline is headlined by some exciting names, their blueline group doesn’t have a ton of standout players. Hunter Brzustewicz could help change that. The former U.S. National Team product went the OHL route this season and posted nearly a point per game.
At 6’0″, Brzustewicz has decent skating mechanics and solid speed; while his stride extension could be a tad longer, his four-way mobility is quite effective in all three zones. He’s a confident passer out of his own zone and exhibits good patience with the puck in transition, evading forecheckers with his edgework and puck protection skills. After his first pass, Brzustewicz often jumps into the rush, providing aggressive puck-support position and options for his teammates. His game reminds me a lot of Ryan Ufko’s; in the offensive zone, he’s a distributor more than a shooter, stretching the zone with his skating skills and puck poise along the blue line.
Defensively, Brzustewicz’s gap control is solid, but his ability to mirror puck carriers can break down against faster skaters as he fails to use his stick to complement his body position. His in-zone defense is alright, but he sometimes struggles to clear opponents away from the front of his net. Brzustewicz already demonstrates some traits of an offensive-minded top-four NHL defender, and I think there’s a great foundation to his game to build upon to get there.
Bradly Nadeau (C) | Penticton Vees (BCHL) | 5’10”, 161 lbs. | PBR Rank: 40th
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | PTS |
| 2021-22 | Penticton Vees | BCHL | 49 | 20 | 26 | 46 |
| 2022-23 | Penticton Vees | BCHL | 54 | 45 | 68 | 113 |
In a class dominated by Major Junior players, Bradly Nadeau stands well above the rest of the Junior A field in 2023. The 5’10” forward dominated the BCHL this season, leading the league in scoring with over two points per game. Excitement abounds for his NCAA debut next year at the University of Maine.
Nadeau is one of the best finishers in this class. He has a lightning-quick release to his wrist and snapshots, and he can rip slap shots from a distance and as one-timers. He unlocks his arms so quickly, ensuring any puck that enters his wheelhouse gets off his blade as soon as possible. His offensive vision is very impressive; Nadeau scans the ice well off and on the puck, finding open lanes to skate into or underrated passing lanes to exploit. His puckhandling skills are excellent, and he can very quickly make a ton of placement decisions with his hands to receive errant passes and deceive defenders.
Nadeau’s general pace is solid, but his skating mechanics could still improve. He really thrives at exploiting just a little bit of space in transition, attacking the offensive zone with a full head of steam. But, he could improve his ability to shift to alternative plans, pulling up, using punch turns, or otherwise delaying to let plays develop. His forechecking game isn’t as well suited for the F1 role, in my opinion, and a little more defensive discipline could make him a dangerous player in the neutral zone to go along with an NHL-ready scoring touch.
Michael Hrabal (G) | Omaha Lancers (USHL) | 6’6″, 216 lbs. | PBR Rank: 41st
| Season | Team | League | GP | GAA | SV% | SO |
| 2021-22 | HC Sparta Praha U17 | Czechia U17 | 10 | 2.60 | 0.929 | 2 |
| 2021-22 | HC Sparta Praha U20 | Czechia U20 | 24 | 2.14 | 0.936 | 1 |
| 2022-23 | Omaha Lancers | USHL | 31 | 2.86 | 0.908 | 3 |
The Predators’ goalie pipeline—outside of Yaroslav Askarov—is bleak. Devin Cooley may be on the move, Tomáš Vomáčka likely won’t have his contract renewed, and Konstantin Volkov and Ethan Haider don’t appear to have a significant NHL future ahead of them. Those facts, combined with Nashville’s 13 picks, all but guarantee they’ll pick a goalie or two next week. It may come later, but if they pull the trigger in round two, Michael Hrabal could be their guy.
The 6’6″ netminder has impressed all season in Omaha of the USHL and for Czechia on the international stage. Hrabal’s size provides a great foundation for his game; he can beat out screens with little issue at his height, and he doesn’t have to be overly athletic to cover his net laterally. His long legs seal off the bottom of the net very well, and while he may not be the fastest goalie in the class, he doesn’t have to be to beat out cross-ice plays.
He manages the top of his crease well, challenging shooters without being overly aggressive. Hrabal’s agility is extremely solid, and he’s not often caught out of position, readjusting to his net quickly after each play. His blocker side can be a weakness compared to his glove side, and he can still be exploited as the play is worked down below the hash marks and he has to swing out toward the half wall to face the puck carrier. Regardless, after a couple of seasons at the University of Massachusetts, Hrabal could be looking at a future as a number-one goalie in the NHL.
Nick Lardis (W) | Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL) | 5’11”, 168 lbs. | PBR Rank: 45th
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | PTS |
| 2021-22 | Peterborough Petes | OHL | 63 | 18 | 19 | 37 |
| 2022-23 | Peterborough Petes | OHL | 36 | 12 | 7 | 19 |
| 2022-23 | Hamilton Bulldogs | OHL | 33 | 25 | 21 | 46 |
After a bit of a slow start to his sophomore campaign in the OHL, a midseason trade reignited Nick Lardis’ season and his draft stock. In total, he combined for 37 goals and 65 points in 69 games with Peterborough and Hamilton this year, plus he pitched in four goals in seven games at the U18 World Junior Championship (WJC).
At 5’11”, Lardis is another somewhat undersized forward who packs a big game. He skates hard every shift never keeping his feet stagnant; his mechanics are good, and I think there’s even room to add more change-of-direction pace. Offensively, he buzzes around the net, looking for any loose puck to pounce on. Lardis has an effective shot with a rapid release, but I imagine his NHL future is filled with more not-so-sexy goals than long-distance snipes. His off-puck game in the offensive zone is good, but Lardis can still improve his forechecking angles to be more effective. Off the rush, he attacks in a north-south manner, manipulating his stickhandling to drive around defenders, shoot from behind their screens, or pass to a trailing teammate.
Lardis’ transition game needs a little work; if his straight-line options are stopped, he can be shut down without delays or other creative alternatives. But I think his skating provides a really good foundation even if he may not be a line driver in the NHL.
Caden Price (D) | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) | 6’1″, 181 lbs. | PBR Rank: 46th
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | PTS |
| 2021-22 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 47 | 2 | 19 | 21 |
| 2022-23 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 41 | 5 | 35 | 40 |
The old Barry Trotz loved Kelowna Rockets defenders (well, one in particular), and the new Barry Trotz may like this one too. Caden Price has been rising up draft boards all season long while chipping in five goals and 40 points in 65 games. On top of that, he’s one of the younger players in this draft class—being eligible by just a couple of weeks—and already has two WHL seasons under his belt.
Price is a solid two-way defender who covers a lot of ice at both ends. He doesn’t lead the rush as much as he plays an aggressive support role in transition. He can reverse the ice well, accelerating out of his crossover steps well. He tends to make his first pass a little quickly, so you’d like to see him with a little more patience in his decision-making (or even leading the rush more). Price’s puck skills are alright; he’s a good distributor, but I wouldn’t characterize his stickhandling skills as a notable strength. While his skating mechanics aren’t perfect, he’s good enough to make a forechecker or two miss; in the offensive zone, he plays an evasive but simple game from the blue line, demonstrating his forceful passing skills.
Price’s instincts on defense are incredibly smart, but his execution isn’t always there. He pivots well and generally closes his gaps with a mixture of an active stick and a smothering check against the boards. But, he opens his stance wide, creating advantages for craftier forwards, and some nights, he just bites at every first move an opposing puck handler makes. Overall, the size and the smarts are there; it’s up to an NHL team to just unlock more consistency before pushing his offensive game.
Noah Dower Nilsson (C) | Frölunda HC J20 (J20 Nationell) | 6’0″, 183 lbs. | PBR Rank: 52nd
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | PTS |
| 2022-23 | Frölunda HC J20 | J20 Nationell | 37 | 26 | 28 | 54 |
| 2022-23 | Frölunda HC J18 | J18 Region | 4 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| 2022-23 | Frölunda HC J18 | J18 Nationell | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 2022-23 | Frölunda HC | SHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Noah Dower Nilsson is a true wildcard during the draft. And that may make him the perfect Nashville Predators pick on day two. If you just looked at his statistics, you may be wondering why he’s not projected to be a first-round pick; after all, he led all U18 players in scoring in the J20 Nationell. When you watch his game tape, you start to see why.
First and foremost, Dower Nilsson is an excellent shooter. He needs little to no time to rip his release after receiving a pass and he can pack a ton of force with little weight transfer through his legs. He’s got a great set of hands and can be so smart with the puck on his stick, navigating around the offensive zone with plenty of ideas on how to carve through defenders. When he earns takeaways on the forecheck, he capitalizes on them quickly, testing the goalie or delivering a creative pass to a teammate. Even when he keeps his head down in the offensive zone (a bad habit against the pros), he still executes dekes and cross-ice passes at a high level.
Off the puck is a different story for Dower Nilsson. He can be a non-factor in the defensive zone at times, and his puck-support game in transition remains inconsistent. Speaking of transition, he can really struggle in that department mostly due to his skating. Similar to Matthew Wood, it’s his biggest weakness. His knee bend isn’t where it needs to be, and his stride extensions are too short; that limits his ability to win foot races to the corners and get from blue line to blue line with the puck.
Dower Nilsson is a classic case of a high ceiling and low floor. It’s possible he never plays an NHL game, but he could also be a dynamic second-line scorer that’s a power-play ace. With 13 picks, why not?
All statistics are courtesy of eliteprospects.com.
