In case you hadn’t heard, the 2016-17 NHL season has concluded. I forget who won the Cup, but I’m sure it was someone.
So now we turn our eyes to a busy couple of weeks. First, there is the Expansion Draft, which begins on June 17th and concludes on June 21st with the announcement of Vegas’ selections. Then there is the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, which starts on Friday, June 23rd in Chicago.
Since there’s very little we know about who the Predators will protect for the expansion draft—and we know even less about who Vegas will actually take—we can only really prepare for the Entry Draft, which is just around the corner.
(Don’t worry, we will have your Expansion Draft coverage as soon as we know who is protected and who isn’t. We’ve given you a very old and outdated take as well as a more recent but probably still outdated mock draft, so we will see how those hold up.)
As far as the Entry Draft goes, here is a rundown of where the Predators will be picking, given the following:
- No 4th round pick due to the trade with New Jersey to acquire Vernon Fiddler.
- The Preds’ original 6th round pick will also go to New Jersey, as part of the deal for P.A. Parenteau
- The Preds will have the New York Rangers’ 6th round pick as part of the trade for Magnus Hellberg back in July 2015. /
So here you go:
2017 Nashville Predators Draft Picks
| Round | Overall pick |
|---|---|
| 1 | 30 |
| 2 | 61 |
| 3 | 92 |
| 5 | 154 |
| 6 | 176 |
| 7 | 216 |
Only six picks in the draft this year, the lowest number since 2010. You hate that you lose those two picks to New Jersey, but the Hellberg trade helps.
Among the Predators’ needs are centers (in particular a future 2C or depth center who can score) and left-handed defensemen. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if they draft another right-handed defenseman and a goaltender, as they usually do.
Who/what do you want the Preds to target in the upcoming draft?