The NHL Draft Lottery results are in, and the Nashville Predators walked away with the 10th overall pick.
Now, what if I told you that the Predators were one spot away from selecting second overall? That's right, the San Jose Sharks, who finished one spot below Nashville in the standings, jumped from ninth to second in the lottery, securing back-to-back second overall selections. The Sharks tied with the Predators in points with 86; however, the Predators were ahead thanks to an additional regulation win.
Looking back at Nashville's final month of hockey, it went 1-1 against San Jose. If Nashville would've lost to San Jose one more time, that would've placed it ahead in the lottery race, assuming the rest of both team's game results remained the same. While 10th isn't as late as the Preds normally land, it's isn't high enough to secure their must-needed superstar prospect.
We're going to break down the multiple ways the Predators could've landed second overall and who they could've drafted. We'll also go over who the Predators will be left with at 10th overall.
Nashville unknowingly had the opportunity to take second overall from San Jose, but was too locked in
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, it's important to note that draft odds weren't known at the time and impossible to predict the correct organization of the lottery. This is only a hypothetical scenario where the lottery results stay the same and the standing positions only flip for Nashville and San Jose.
It is in nobody's best interest to get mad at a team for winning. The whole point of hockey is to win as many games as possible, even if you're a terrible team. For Nashville, they were in the race for a wild card spot, and I don't blame them for putting in the effort to potentially secure one.
The game that "decided it all" was on Saturday, Apr. 4, when the Predators took down the Sharks 6-3 on the road. Coming off of a 5-4 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings days prior, the Preds walked into SAP Center with high spirits. That energy showed up on the ice, especially amongst the top players like Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi, who put up three and two points respectively.
It was that veteran presence that led the Predators to a dominant on-ice affair yet again against the Sharks. Nashville was already familiar with San Jose, beating it in the team's previous matchup with a similar score. At the time, that win was a beauty. The team scored on both special teams and even strength. It was also the first time in a while Tyson Jost posted a three-point night. With the knowledge we have today, some of us wish that it never happened.
As we said, if we assume that the remainder of both team's schedule and records stayed the same, the Preds would've place one spot below the Sharks. They would've then had the ninth overall pick, which then turned into the second overall pick.
This means management would've had the opportunity to draft either superstar forwards Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenburg; if the team went defensive, it could've secured the draft's top defensive prospect Chase Reid. Now at 10th, they'll be lucky to land a top-line scoring talent.
We should get our hopes up however, as there are still a handful of prospects worth drafting at the beginning of the double digits.
This year's draft is loaded and there is some serious talent waiting to get picked
The problem with there being so much talent in this draft is the inconsistency among analyst rankings. For the sake of this story, we'll base this off of the Daily Faceoff's rankings and projections. Following the lottery, it predicted that the Preds would go after Boston University centerman Tynan Lawrence.
Lawrence was once touted as a candidate to go first overall not too long ago. However, his underwhelming start to the NCAA pushed many from even suggesting him going in the top five, even top ten in the draft. In the last leg of the season, Lawrence woke up from his slumber and took control, scoring two goals and six points in his last five games. He finished the season with three goals and 11 points in 18 contests.
He still holds his high hockey IQ and his hunger for the puck. As the Daily Faceoff wrote, Lawrence will be a high-risk, high-reward player for the Preds. If he paves to be the player scouts saw in recency, Nashville will have one of their best prospects in a hot minute. If he doesn't, can't say he'll go far under new management. Worst case scenario, he'll develop into a solid middle-six piece. Let's hope he develops into top line forward many analysts project him as.
If the Preds decide to go defensive, Daxon Rudolph is the go-to guy If we're fully expecting Alberts Smits to get drafted ahead of Nashville, Rudolph is the best available defense. If Smits is still on the board, he's obviously the pick.
Rudolph is a promising offensive defensive. He is smart with the puck: doesn't let it go too early and only shoots if it's perfect. At 6-foot-4, he's also physical as well. His size allows him to easily take hold of the puck along the boards, and stop him from getting knocked down too often. With Nashville's top defensive prospects on the shorter end, adding in some height wouldn't hurt.
10th overall is as bad as some fans have painted it as. Yes, it would've been better to land third, second or even first overall, but this year's draft class allows us to still expect high skill later on in process.
Add us as a preferred source on Google