Love it or hate it, the Nashville Predators enjoyed a memorable Day 1 of the 2025 NHL Draft, and that trend continued into Day 2. The Preds only had four picks, but they struck more gold with a pair of second rounders, both of whom you could also chalk up as steals.
It started with the towering defensive defenseman Jacob Rombach, who clocks in at 6'6, 209 lbs. It goes without saying that pure defense is this blueliner's game, and it's players like Rombach who will hop into lower-second or high-end third-pairing minutes when he reaches the NHL level.
Rombach is the type of player that would win a hockey team championships thanks to his physical demeanor. And if he did that in Smashville, fans would be just fine with him wearing a gold jersey - along with Brady Martin, Cameron Reid, and Ryker Lee.
The Predators may've found Juuse Saros' successor in the 2025 NHL Draft
Jack ivankovic is one slightly built goaltender, standing at just 6'0, and 172 lbs. While he wasn't lights out with the OHL's Brampton Steelheads, Ivankovic proved to be about as durable as Saros, starting in 43 games, and snagging a 0.903 save percentage, and a 3.05 GAA to go with two shutouts and 25 wins.
He was phenomenal at the U18 and U20 World Juniors. In U18, he went a perfect 6-0, and put up a 1.05 GAA and a 0.961 save percentage. Now the burning question is: Will he improve on his OHL numbers when he's suiting up for the University of Michigan?
Alex Huang was another absolute steal. He's an offensive-defenseman who I thought would be long gone by the 122nd overall pick. And you can't blame Barry Trotz for taking advantage of the mistakes virtually the entire league made by passing up on Huang, who put up 40 points and seven goals across 64 games in the QMJHL.
I also liked Daniel Nieminen, who also brings a mobile, two-way approach. He played well in Liiga, Finland's pro hockey league, with 11 points and four goals across 39 games. If you can fare that well in Liiga while playing against men, you're doing something right.
More from Predlines