Nashville Predators Top 15 First Round Draft Picks

Brian Finley, G,1999, #6 Pick in the First Round

In the Nashville Predators second year of existence, they chose Brian Finley with the sixth overall pick. He looked golden.  Playing with the Barrie Colts juniors team, his resume included the 1998 OHL All-Rookie Team, an OHL First Team All-Star and OHL Goaltender of the Year in 1999, led the Barrie to the 2000 OHL Championship and a second place finish at the 2000 Memorial Cup.

There were always high hopes for him and in 2001-02 he was going to be their goaltender of the future.  He was plagued by groin injuries and played a grand total of two games for the Preds.  He was later signed as a Free Agent by the Boston Bruins in 2006.

Finley played four games total and was 0-2 with an .851 Save Pct. and a 4.70 GAA in his career. He retired from hockey after the 2006-07 season.

Next: #14, History Repeats

Chet Pickard, G, 2008, #18 Pick in the First Round

Sorry about that second empty net.  It won’t happen again as there are no more goaltenders on this list.  Chet Pickard was the Nashville Predators second First Rounder in 2008 after Colin Wilson at #7 overall.  He was also the second and final Goaltender ever taken by the Preds in the first round.

After backing up Canadien’s goalie Carey Price in Juniors, Pickard succeeded him both with  a 2.28 GAA and .921 save percentage, and the award of CHL Goaltender of the Year.  He was nominated for the Del Wilson trophy against Braden Holtby.  Those other two netminders turned out much better.

After kicking around with up-and-down success in the minor league and European hockey, he has signed a two-year deal with the German club, Iserlohn Roosters of the DEL to be their backup. He had been fourth on the Milwaukee Admirals depth chart. Although he was called up to the Nashville Predators once, he has never played and NHL game.

Next: #13, At Least He Had Some Value

Ryan Parent, D, 2005, #18 Pick in the First Round

If you google Ryan Parent Hockey Bust, more than 250,000 links will come up. He actually was in the Nashville Predators organization twice but never played a game for them.  He is most famous as part of the trade with Scottie Upshall to the Philly Flyers for Peter Forsberg.

Although he was mostly a defensive stalwart, he only scored 10 goals in juniors in the OHL. That translated about right as he scored a grand total of one goal in 106 total NHL games for Philadelphia and Vancouver.  He was traded back to the Preds for the rights to Dan Hamhuis but was then traded to Vancouver where he played 4 games.

He has played the last six years for six different minor league teams, most recently for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He is listed on several lists of the biggest busts in Predators history.

Next: #12, A Great Minor Leaguer

Jonathon Blum, D, 2007, #23 Pick in the First Round

Jonathon Blum played great and scored everywhere EXCEPT the NHL.  He was a great point man on the Power Play for his teams in the Juniors and AHL setting assist records and winning awards. He just couldn’t do it in the NHL.

After the Preds selected him in 2007, he played two more years in Juniors and racked up more than a point a game.  Then in 2009 he moved to the Milwaukee Admirals and scored 75 points in 134 games.  Everyone couldn’t wait to see him in Nashville.

He was brought up in parts of three years from 2010-2013 and scored 22 points in 91 games and had no physical game at all. He was most famous for getting stomped on by the Anaheim Ducks Bobby Ryan who received a two-game suspension for it.

After the 2013 season, the Predators didn’t offer a contract and he signed a two-way deal with the Wild. Although he was able to tear it up for their AHL Iowa team he scored only 2 points in 19 games.

He left the Wild for the KHL and last season played for the Vladivostok Admiral. He had a nice season with 8 goals and 30 points in 55 games.  For some reason, his game just will not translate to the NHL.   We wish him well in Russia.

Next: #11, Still A Lot To Prove for This Pick

Kevin Fiala, LW, 2014, #11 Pick in the First Round

Young Mr. Fiala can move up this list in a hurry.  We have seen flashes of his game-breaking potential and explosive acceleration.  Last season, he expected to be on the Nashville Predators roster at the beginning of the season.  When he was sent to Milwaukee, he brooded a bit but turned it around and let the team in scoring  with 50 pts in 66 games by season’s end.

He is still only 19 years old.  He has a bit of maturing to do and needs to learn to play a little more defense. (He was a -19 plus/minus in Milwaukee) But the sky is the limit. He has already played six games for the Preds and scored his first goal.

His quote from an article by the Hockey Writers:

“My offense is good, but I have to be even better defensively,” Fiala said. “I am getting better and better, and I have to be even better. I have to be more physical. I have to have a better shot. Everything.”

It sounds like that maturity thing is happening.  Whether it’s next year or the year after, Kevin Fiala is expected to make the Preds club and help their offense. There is hope that he could get very near the top of this list.  Stay tuned.

Next: #10, A Player with a Purpose

Austin Watson, RW, 2010, #18 Pick in the First Round

Austin Watson was chosen in the 2010 draft ahead of some pretty good players. Right ahead of  Nick Bjugstad of the Panthers who has 56 goals in the NHL. Yevgeni Kuznetsov of the Capitals had 20 goals and 77 points this season. Brock Nelson of the Islanders with 60 goals, and Tyler Toffoli of the Kings with 68.

Drafting is an inexact science. Austin Watson played the entire year for the Nashville Predators this season and he had 3 goals and 10 points.  That is not to say that he won’t be a scoring forward for the Preds.

He had limited ice time and only played 57 games. He was mostly on the fourth, checking line. In his past three seasons in Milwaukee, he scored over 20 goals all three seasons.

Next season with Eric Nystrom and Paul Gaustad gone, he will really have his chance to shine.  He is only 24-years old and already has 63 games of NHL experience and has been around pros that know how to play the game.  He could be a really solid two-way player that can chip in at least double-digit goals.

He has nice size at 6’4″ and 200 lbs and if he can improve his skating just a bit, he could be a valuable part of the Nashville Predators for a long time.

Next: #9, A Very Solid Pick

Dan Hamhuis, D, 2001, #12 Pick in the First Round

The Nashville Predators made a nice choice of Dan Hamhuis in 2001.  Of the 289 players chosen that year, not one of them has played as many as Hamhuis 872 NHL games.  He played 483 of those games for the Nashville Predators.

In his rookie season with the Preds in 2004, he played in the Young Stars game at the All-Star game and helped lead the Predators to their first playoffs against the Detroit Redwings. He was a solid two-way defenseman and played behind Shea Weber and Ryan Suter.

After six years with the Preds, his time was diminished as was his scoring with the increased play of Suter and Weber.  He couldn’t come to terms with the Predators and his rights were traded to Philadelphia for Ryan Parent.  He ended up not signing with them or the Pittsburgh Pens who also traded for him.

He signed with the Vancouver Canucks as an UFA for six years and had several successful seasons with them. He helped lead them to two President’s trophies and was a +29 Plus/Minus two years in a row. In 2011-12 he had 37 points and was 10th in the Norris Trophy voting.

He is now a 33-year old Unrestricted Free Agent and will definitely get some interest this summer. A very solid pick but he only played six seasons for the Predators.

Next: #8, A Bit of Controversy

Alexander Radulov, F, 2004, #15 Pick in the First Round

Even though Alexander Radulov only played one full season with the Nashville Predators, there is no debating his talent.  He has been an amazing scorer anywhere he played. In 2005-06 in the QMJHL he scored 61 goals and 152 points in only 62 games. He made amazing records there.

In his only full season with the Preds, he scored 26 goals and 58 points in 81 games at the age of 21 years old. He broke Preds fans hearts by signing a huge three-year deal with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) even though he still was under contract to the Preds.

After much legal wrangling, he stayed in Russia and was a scoring champion.  After the end of the KHL season in 2012, Radulov returned to the Nashville Predators for the end of the 2011-12 season and into the playoffs. He scored three goals and four assists in the final nine games of the season.

There was a lot of hope going into the playoffs that turned into a disaster when Radulov and teammate  Andrei Kostitsyn were spotted at an Arizona, bar at 5:00 AM the night before Game 2 of their second-round playoff against the Coyotes, breaking curfew and handed a suspension. The Preds lost in five games.

The Predators didn’t sign Radulov again and he went back to the KHL with CSKA Moscow for nearly $10 million a year. He is second all-time in scoring in the KHL and holds several records. He is reportedly returning to the NHL next season but don’t expect the Predators to sign him.

Next: #7, Another Part Time Predator

Scottie Upshall, RW, 2002, #6 Pick in the First Round

Scottie Upshall never turned into the scorer the Nashville Predators were looking for when they drafted him #6 overall in 2002.  It was not a deep first round as he was drafted ahead of really only a couple of players after him that were much better, Alexander Steen, Jeffrey Lupul and Alexander Semin.  Rick Nash was the number one overall and was the only superstar of the round.

That being said, Upshall has played 13 seasons so far in the league and a total of 623 games.  He is somewhat famous with the Predators as he was part of the trade for Peter Forsberg from Philadelphia in 2007.

He has always been a hard-working depth player wherever he played with only 121 goals and never hit 20 in a season.  He’s had problems staying healthy and has been a solid but unspectacular player in the NHL.  He only played 77 games for Nashville.

There was a player picked 54th overall deep in the second round named Duncan Keith by the Blackhawks that turned out much better but hindsight is 20-20, especially in drafting teenagers.

Next: #6, Still Has Something to Prove

Seth Jones, D, 2013, #4 Pick in the First Round

Granted, Seth Jones still has a lot to prove in the NHL. He was still a great pick by the Nashville Predators in 2013 though.  Most thought he would go #1 in the draft and inexplicably fell to #4 where the Preds scooped him up.  They were counting on getting a good forward but couldn’t pass on Jones.

The three players who were chosen ahead of him all look like they will be excellent too. Nathan MacKinnon, Aleksander Barkov, and Jonathan Drouin all have been impressive too but Jones could turn out to be the best of them.

After starting immediately with the Nashville Predators he scored 63 points in 199 NHL games. He was continually improving his defense as well and is a silky smooth skater.  In 2015-16, the Preds traded him to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Ryan Johanssen, the young center they never had.

He is playing number one pairing minutes for Columbus and should continue to get better.  He is looking for a new contract as his entry level contract is over.  He should expect something in the $6 million per year range.

He is not a proven star in the NHL yet, but he is well on his way.  He also turned into the center that Nashville has always been looking for so he deserves this spot in our rankings.

Next: #5,Inconsistent Is My Name

Colin Wilson, LW, 2008, #7 Pick in the First Round

First of all, it says something about the quality of your First Round picks if Colin Wilson is number five overall. He is certainly an enigma. We have had a series about Wilson and his inconsistency.

Related Story: Colin Wilson's Inconsistency

Colin Wilson was the Nashville Predators first of two picks in the first round.  He is much better than the other, Chet Pickard who was number 14 on this list.  They actually had a couple of pretty good picks; a guy named Roman Josi in the second round and goaltender Anders Lindback was chosen way down in the seventh.

In his first year as a pro, he spent part of it with the Predators and part with Milwaukee.  He had 34 points for the Admirals in only 40 games.  He has only surpassed that once for the Preds in his seven years in the league.  His best season was two years ago with 20 goals and 42 points in 77 games.

That was a contract year and he cashed in with a four-year $15.75 million contract.  He followed that with his worst year this season with only six goals in 64 games. As bad as that was, he lit it up in the playoffs with 5 goals and 13 points in only 14 games.  An enigma to be sure.

Every year there is hope for Colin Wilson to turn into a 25-goal scorer.  A consistent 25-goal scorer.  If it happens, he will be worth his seventh overall first round pick. Of course, we want him to carry it over into the playoffs too!

Next: #4, Good and Getting Better

Ryan Ellis, D, 2009, #11 Pick in the First Round

After winning almost every junior award imaginable, Ryan Ellis was ranked 16th in the draft because of his size and was taken at #11 by the Nashville Predators. After joining the Preds in training camp the next two seasons, he was sent back to the Windsor Spitfires in juniors. His final season he scored 101 points in only 58 games.

With plenty of good defensemen in Nashville, Ellis bounced between the Preds and Milwaukee for two more years. He is an offensive defenseman but plays his own zone too.  He can move the puck up the ice and quarterback the Power Play.

He and Mattias Ekholm make a great second pairing and play well with each other. In his first full year as a Nashville Predator in 2012-13, Ellis went 6G-21A-27Pts in 80 games.  He has improved those numbers every season and had his best season this year with 10 goals and 35 pts and a Plus +13 Plus/Minus.

He plays bigger than he is.  He is one of the young core talents that this team is being built around.  He could be near the top of this list before he is done.

Next: #3, The Original Predator

David Legwand, C, 1998, #2 Pick in the First Round

It still feels funny seeing David Legwand in any color other than the Nashville Predators. He always will be the Original Predator.  He was their first draft pick in the 1998 NHL Entry draft, right behind Vincent Lecavalier who is the only player drafted that year that has played more games than the 1,136 that Legwand has played.

The Nashville Predators Mike Fisher and Mike Ribeiro were both chosen back-to-back in the second round behind him.  David Legwand never became the scorer that the Preds hoped for when they drafted him but he did so many things well.

He was a quiet leader, could play both ends, both at 5 vs 5 and on special teams. He was a great representative for the Predators in his 15 years here.  There were times that he was blamed for not providing more offense, something the Predators desperately needed from a center.

His best season was 2006-07 when he scored 27 goals and 63 points in 77 games.  He finished 12th in the Selke Award balloting.  Only one other time did he reach 20 goals when he had that mark in 2008-09. He still holds many Nashville Predator records because of his longevity.  He played on some pretty bad teams early in his career.

We could have easily chosen Legwand as the top player on this list.  He WAS the top player as a Predator.  There are a couple of players chosen in the first round that went on to accomplish more as a player, though.

Next: #2, Almost a Pred Twice

Scott Hartnell, LW, 2000, #6 Pick in the First Round

The Nashville Predators took Scott Hartnell with the 6th overall pick in 2000.  That fall he became the youngest player in Nashville Predators history and was the youngest player in the entire NHL. He played six seasons with the Preds and accumulated 93 goals and 211 points in 436 points. He also had 544 penalty minutes.

Related Story: Preds Looking at Scott Hartnell Again

He also had 544 penalty minutes which still ranks third all-time for the Predators just behind Shea Weber.  And there are no active players even in the Top 10.  He still ranks in the Top 10 all-time for the Preds in Goals, Power Play Goals, and Game-Winning Goals.

On a dark day in Predators history, he was shipped to Philadelphia along with Kimmo Timonen in the great Salary Purge of Craig Leopold. The Predators received a late first round pick in return. He went on to play seven years for Philly and scored a bunch of goals and penalty minutes.

He has had nine seasons of 20 or more goals and two of those were 30 and 37 in 2011-12.  That year he made the All-Star team.  He has been a leader and an incredibly solid goal scorer everywhere he has played.  He’s been with Columbus the past two seasons and scored 28 and 23 goals at the age of 33 and 34.

He was rumored to be traded back to the Nashville Predators a couple times last season.  There are still rumors swirling.  He was definitely one of the best First Round picks the Nashville Predators have ever made.

Next: #1, Who is the Best First Rounder Ever for Preds?

Ryan Suter, LD, 2003, #7 Pick in the First Round

The Nashville Predators had a pretty good Draft on defense in 2003.  In the First Round, they took Ryan Suter at number 7.  In the Second Round, they picked up Kevin Klein at number 37. Also in the Second, they took some guy named Shea Weber at number 49.  That’s a pretty solid “D”.

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Weber joined Suter in 2005 on the Nashville Predators and they seemed inseparable as one of the best defensive pairings in the league for the best part of seven years.  At that point, Suter, who supposedly told David Poile he was resigning with the Predators joined pal

Zach Parise

on July 4th, 2012 and signed matching 13-year $98 million contracts.

Shea Weber and Predators fans, and seemingly especially David Poile were all shocked and to this day, Ryan Suter still gets booed every time he touches the puck in Nashville. In some ways, it was a blessing in disguise for the Preds as Roman Josi has developed into an All-Star defenseman beside Weber and is much less expensive than Suter would have been.

As a matter of fact, the twin contracts for Suter and Parise have kind of cost the Wild as they have a hard time paying adequate players around them.  Regardless, Ryan Suter has been an All-Star six times and a Norris Trophy candidate multiple times. Suter is now 31 and still has 9 years of his contract remaining.

He is by far, the most successful First Round Draft Pick the Nashville Predators have ever had. He actually had his best numbers this past season with 8 goals and 51 points, both career highs. He is still playing at a high level and annually ranks near the top in minutes played.

Next: Preds Right Wing, Right Guys

That is our look at the Top 15 First Round Draft Picks of all time for the Nashville Predators.  It is certainly open to debate but the overall theme is that we hope they do better going forward than they have in the past.