The Nashville Predators finish the 2017 NHL Entry Draft with five selections on Saturday. Now, it is just time to see how things progress.
And, just like that, the 2017 NHL Entry Draft is completed. With six selections overall, the Nashville Predators made the most of their opportunities. And, while their largest splash came at the end of the opening round, selecting a player in Eeli Tolvaven, General Manager David Poile and company continued to impress.
In the second round, the Predators selected Grant Mismash, a center on the US National Development Program in 2016-17. He finished the season tied for the team lead in points with 61, including 26 goals in 56 games. Mismash pushed the US Under-18 team to international gold with eight points in seven games. For the 2017-18 season, Mismash will play for the University of North Dakota.
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The Nashville Predators kept with the US National Development Program team and selected defenseman David Farrance. The young blue-liner is familiar with the Predators’ Director of Player Development Scott Nichol, who is from the same hometown. Farrance has skated with Nichol’s children. The bond proved positive. Farrance is 5 feet 11 inches, and can score and move the puck well.
Later Rounds
The Predators did not have a pick in the fourth round, and looked to the goal for their fifth round selection. Here, they picked goalie Tomas Vomacka. In 2016-17, the 6 feet 3 inch Vomacka finished with a .923 save percentage. His performance during his first year in the state earned him NAHL South Division Goaltender of the Year, All-South Division Team, and USHL All-Rookie Team.
The final two round saw the Predators go after depth. In round six, Poile selected center Pavel Koltygin from Drummondville of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Here, he notched 47 points in 65 games. The teams likes his upside in puck handling, and hoping to see that potential make an impact soon.
It was back to defense for the team’s final pick, selecting defenseman from the Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League. His size and detail on defense interest the Predators, and may be more of an enforcer than as scoring. That may well prove to provide balance to their team.
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All in all, the team did what it needed to do. Now, we see how the potential turns out.