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2021 NHL Mock Draft: Top Targets for Nashville Predators in 1st Round

By Chad Minton

Nashville Predators players thank the crowd after being eliminated in overtime by the Carolina Hurricanes in game six of the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Nashville Predators players thank the crowd after being eliminated in overtime by the Carolina Hurricanes in game six of the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nashville Predators players thank the crowd  Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

Chaz Lucius, C/W, Univ. of Minnesota

Another mid-round projected prospect with a lot of offensive upside is Chaz Lucius. He’s gotten a lot of his experience playing for the USA junior teams and is now preparing for NCAA hockey in 2021-22 for the University of Minnesota.

Lucius has a lot of promising offensive traits including very strong puck handling and the ability to create extended offensive pressure. He plays hard in front of the net and can score in many different ways.

My favorite scouting report quote about Lucius is from Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com:

"“Lucius has one of the hardest shots of the 2021 draft class … A mobile and relentless player around the net.”"

Lucius put up 50 points in 46 games for the U17 USA National team in 2019-20, and then turned in another 20 points in 13 games for the U18 USA National team this season. He should be rising up draft boards, and he’ll likely be there for the taking if the Predators want him.

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Look, this is a tough draft class to pinpoint. There’s going to be steals and busts all over this draft as team’s will have to take leaps of faith as opposed to having a ton of film to go off of.

These have been my top four prospects I’d like the Predators to target, but obviously there are many more to look at as possibilities. One thing I’m hoping against is the Predators don’t reach for a defensive prospect in the first round when their biggest need is stacking up more offensive scorers in their prospect pool.

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