Nashville Predators Top 15 First Round Draft Picks

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