Nashville Predators: Draft Picks You Wish They Could Have Back

One of the most important things that every team goes through each year is scouting for the draft, because certain players can change your franchise forever.

For example players like Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane and obviously many more.

From 1998 to 2016, the Nashville Predators have only had three 1st-round busts in my opinion, but every team drafts a bust every once in a while so it’s not the worst thing in the world.

Luckily, the team hasn’t had draft mistakes every year, but here are some players the  Nashville Predators could have drafted instead of the players they ended up choosing.

Hines-sight is always 20/20 right? Scouting players will never be a perfect science, and there’s always risks involved. Let’s see which ones the Predators and GM David Poile probably wish they could have back.

1998- Denis Arkhipov (Center)

Arkhipov played in the NHL for only four years,  and all of them were with the Predators.

From 2000 to 2004, he posted 138 points in 352 games played, which isn’t terrible, but the next center drafted was two–time Stanley Cup champ Brad Richards.

This obviously when the franchise was first building up, and those expansion rules were a lot more difficult than what we saw with the Vegas Golden Knights, and now in Seattle.

From 2000-2016, Richards posted 932 points in 1,126 games played. The Conn Smythe Trophy winner had a Hall of Fame worthy career.

Imagine if the Predators could’ve snagged Richards in this draft. Perhaps the long road from being an expansion team would’ve been kick started with a player of his talent level and leadership.

This is one you definitely wish you could have back in the early days of the franchise.

1999- Brian Finley, Jan Lasak, and Kyle Kettles (Goalie)

Brian Finley was the Predators first draft bust in my mind. The sixth-overall pick played a total of four NHL games in his career. Two games with the Predators and two with the Boston Bruins.

Jan Lasak only played six NHL games, which were all with the Predators. He finished with a goals against average over four goals per game, and his save percentage was .874.

So obviously not a lot of return with these two. But it gets even worse. Kyle Kettles never even played a game in the NHL.

Two goalies the team missed out on were Craig Anderson and Ryan Miller. Two goaltenders that are still playing today and have over 600 career wins combined.

Anderson started in 2002 and is still currently playing. As of right now, he has 289 wins in 648 games played. He could possibly be in the hall-of-fame when he retires.

Miller also started in 2002 and is also still playing. As of right now, he has 387 wins in 780 games played. I can see him ending up in the Hall of Fame with the career numbers he’s put up and the longevity of his career.

Everything turned out pretty well for the Predators in the long run at goaltender with great starters like Tomas Vokoun, Mike Dunham, Chris Mason and of course Pekka Rinne.

2000- Jure Penko (Goalie)

Penko was drafted in the 7th round by the Predators and didn’t ever play in the NHL. Two picks

later Henrik Lundqvist was picked. This one stings because Lundqvist, who is still playing, went on to have one of the best careers for a goalie in league history.

His best days are far past him, but he currently sits at 459 wins in 887 games played. The “King” will 100 percent be in the Hall of Fame once he retires.

Again, the Predators made out just fine at goaltender through acquiring goaltenders through other avenues, and eventually ending up with Pekka Rinne.

This proves again that this isn’t an exact science, especially when it comes to drafting goaltenders and seeing how they navigate through the minor league system.

But to think the Predators could’ve had Lundqvist is wild to to think about.

2011- Magnus Hellbrug (Goalie), Miikka Salomaki (Right Wing), Josh Shalla (Left Wing), and Brent Andrews (Left Wing)

Man, this is one draft the Predators sure wish they could do over again. This was by far their worst draft in franchise history. Luckily, there hasn’t been that bad of a draft since.

More from Predlines

• Nashville Predators 2023 Training Camp Spotlight: Kiefer Sherwood
• Captain Candidates if Nashville Predators Didn’t Have Roman Josi
• The All-Time 25 Games or Less Nashville Predators Lineup
• Nashville Predators 2023 Training Camp Spotlight: Cody Glass
• Joakim Kemell Flashes his Offense in Nashville Predators Loss to Tampa

Hellburg played a total of four games in his NHL career and has been playing in the KHL since then. The very next pick was John Gibson. The 26-year-old has had a great career.

But the Predators had already seen what Pekka Rinne could do in net, so missing out on goaltenders wasn’t that disastrous at this point.

In the same round, the Predators selected Miikka Salomaki. He still has many more seasons before he retires, but as of right now only has 27 points in 167 games.

Salomaki was a physical grinder of a player that you can appreciate, but he just never really produced to the level you expect from a 2nd-round pick, but he has had a decent career in the AHL with Milwaukee.

Hopefully he can turn his career around with the Toronto Maple Leafs. This mistake hurts the worst, with two right wingers later seeing Nikita Kucherov taken. Ouch.

Kucherov won theArt Ross Trophy, Ted LindsayAward,  and Hart Memorial Trophy last season. He is arguably the best player in the NHL. The 26-year-old still has many more great years ahead of him, but currently he has 547 points in 515 games.

2011- Josh Shalla (Left Wing)

Josh Shalla hasn’t played in the NHL yet and it doesn’t look like he ever will. Two left wing picks later was Johnny Gaudreau. The 26-year-old started in 2013 and hasn’t looked back since.

He has been a stud so far posting 445 points in 464 games. The young gun has many more years ahead of him in his career.

Just this season alone has 58 points, including 18 goals. Those 58 points would only be trailing Roman Josi on the current Predators team.

You can get over seeing the goaltender misses because the Predators have actually been very fortunate in their history with outstanding goaltenders. But missing out on dynamic offensive wingers like Gaudreau for a player that never played a game is rough to stomach.

Obviously you’re bound to have some misses in the draft, especially in the NHL as you’re picking from players all over the world. The Predators have done pretty well over the years, but they’ve had their fair share of misses as well.