Nashville Predators: The 5 Best Draft Picks in Predator’s History
Martin Erat drafted in 1999
Fresh off their first season of existence, the Predators were looking to build through the draft. They were dealing with all of the challenges of being an expansion team, so drafting team-first players was critical.
In came Martin Erat, who would end up becoming a cornerstone to the franchise for the next several years. Erat made his NHL debut in 2001 for the Predators, but really didn’t burst onto the scene until 2003-04 season, finishing with 49 points.
As the ultimate assist man, Erat helped spearhead the Predators to their first playoff berth in 2004. The Predators were finally on the NHL map, and Erat was a major part of that.
There can be a strong argument that Erat is one of the original pieces that made the Predators franchise what it is today. He’s second in team history to only David Legwand in assists and points. He’s also third in team history in goals with 163.
Erat was traded for the young Filip Forsberg in 2013, which was a tough loss at the time. Obviously that trade has worked out beautifully for the Predators, but Erat’s time with Nashville is still worthy of putting him on this list.
If you’re building a Mount Rushmore of Predators hockey, Erat better be on there. You can’t celebrate what this team has become in 2017 without knowing where it came from and who was there when it was still an infant.
Preds Defense Gets Faster With Roman Josi
The recent success of the Predators is thanks in large part to their elite group of defensemen who can also score and create scoring chances. Roman Josi leads that charge now as one of team’s top scoring threats from the defensive unit. His puck handling and speed is an absolute thrill to watch.
Josi was drafted in 2008 in the second round. He really started to take notice after the Ryan Suter trade in the summer of 2012. That left the door wide open for Josi to be on the top defensive line pairing with Shea Weber.
Safe to say he stepped up to the challenge and has helped all of the Predators faithful forget about Suter. He’s a main part of the current team on both offense and defense. His playoff numbers were outstanding in this recent postseason.
The Predators have done an amazing job drafting defensive talent, which has made them one of the most consistent NHL franchises in the league. Josi has a chance to end up as the best defenseman in Predators history when it’s all over. Yes, even better than the next guy on the list.
The Original Superstar of the Preds
Before Shea Weber was the 49th overall draft pick in 2003, the Predators never had a true superstar. Someone who was widely known across the NHL. Weber changed that as he became one of the NHL’s top defensemen, not to mention his ridiculous slapshot. He represents a turning point in Predators history by putting the franchise into the spotlight.
Weber didn’t waste time making an impact on the team. In just his second season it was apparent that he was going to be cornerstone of the franchise for years to come. It also didn’t take him long to start joining the conversation for the Norris Trophy, the league’s best defenseman award. Add All-Star selections and an intimidation factor and you get an NHL superstar.
In fact, Weber became so good that other teams were willing to throw some of the highest dollar figures in league history to sign him, but the Predators figured out a way to hold onto him. That left a bad taste in the mouth of some fans, but eventually Weber became a fan-favorite again.
We all know how it finally came to an end with Weber being traded for P.K. Subban just last offseason. It was a difficult farewell, but Weber’s 11 seasons in a Predators uniform easily ranks as one of the all-time best stints in franchise history.
The goaltender who stabilized the franchise
You have to have strong goaltending to survive in this league. Just like in the NFL you need a great quarterback, in hockey you need elite goaltending. Pekka Rinne has brought that to the Predators over his ten seasons.
Rinne had very little buzz surrounding him as an eighth-round draft pick. His story is incredible, per a 2011 article from Gare Joyce of ESPN.com. There wasn’t much film to go off of due to him being a back-up, but the Predators decided to take him late in the draft.
Janne Kekalainen, who scouted Rinne for the Predators, was instantly convinced when he saw him play, per ESPN.com.
I was impressed right away. You could easily tell he was mobile, but the most impressive thing was the energy, drive, sportsmanship oozing out of him. There had been a goalie taken the previous draft in the third round and I remember thinking, ‘If he was taken in the third, I have no problem taking (Rinne) in the second.'”
Who knows where the Predators would be right now as a franchise if they don’t draft Rinne. They may have never locked up the goaltender position to become a consistent playoff contender. Rinne is a huge factor into why the Predators are what they are today.
This recent Stanley Cup Final run never comes to fruition without Rinne. The only knock you can have on Rinne is his tendency to be streaky. However, there have been countless clutch moments when Rinne stood on his head to take the Predators to huge victories.
To dive into the actual numbers, Rinne is the all-time franchise leader in every major statistical goaltender category. His career goals against average of 2.38 is the most impressive of them all. It was hard to not make him No.1, but there’s really only one true No.1 for the history of the Predators.
The guy who was there from the beginning
You couldn’t complete a list of best Predators’ draft picks without having the first ever draft pick of the franchise, David Legwand. He was actually the second overall pick in the 1998 draft, and obviously an important one.
The best thing about Legwand was how he responded to the pressure of being the first ever draft pick of an expansion team in a non-traditional market. He could’ve easily ended up a bust for a franchise that was literally just getting started. Instead he was one of the team’s go-to goal scorers and easily a fan-favorite. How could you not love the missing teeth?
Legwand’s goal totals are not astronomical, but he also played for teams that had very little offensive firepower around him. Instead he was the model of consistency. He’s the first face of the franchise and is the all-time leader in game appearances for the Predators at 956.
You also can’t forget that Legwand was a major factor into those Predators teams that finally started making the playoffs on a regular basis. He scored six goals in the 2011 playoffs that led the Predators to the second round of the playoffs, which was a first for the franchise.
It was hard to not see Legwand retire in a Predators uniform because of a trade to the Detroit Red Wings, of all teams, in 2014. That trade actually led to the acquisition of Calle Jarnkrok, an ascending player on the current roster. It’s still a tough pill to swallow losing the organization’s original draft pick in a trade to a rival.
Legwand had a lot of kind things to say about the Nashville Predators organization after making the Stanely Cup Final, per the Player’s Tribune. He also spoke about how it was early on playing in Nashville:
Some pundits said that our odds of succeeding early on were not good, but we tried not to listen to anyone on the outside. We jelled quickly as a team because, like I said, all we wanted to do was play hockey. Really, that was the only thing any of us had any control over.
Very cool stuff from who I believe is the best draft pick in Predators history, and probably always will be. Really, it’s not even close.