With the most underachieving season in Nashville Predators now officially in the books, the main focus is now on where they will land in the NHL Draft Lottery.
The NHL hasn't announced an official date yet for the lottery draw, but it will happen sometime in May. Last year's lottery drawing was on May 7, so it's expected it will be sometime in the first week or two of May.
This is rare territory for this franchise to be in. The Predators last picked in the top-5 of the draft in 2013 when they selected Seth Jones at fourth-overall. The pick itself ended up being a good one as they eventually used it to trade for Ryan Johansen and a magical run to the Stanley Cup Final and a Presidents Trophy right after soon happened. Johansen was a key catalyst in that spurt of success.
The Predators cannot fall out of the top-5, but they have an 11.5 percent chance to win the top overall pick. That would be a first in franchise history. If they win the second-overall pick from the lottery drawing, it would be only the second time getting that pick. Their inaugural draft in 1998 saw the franchise select David Legwand.
So let's go through each scenario and mock who the Predators will take with picks one through five. We'll start with the ultimate prize of winning the top pick, and work our way back to No.5.
With the 1st-overall pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, the Nashville Predators select....
Most scouts are in agreement that left shot defenseman Matthew Schaefer out of the OHL is the top prospect in this year's draft class. The scouts rave about his high ceiling for the NHL thanks to his offensive skills, his smooth skating and high hockey IQ.
Schaefer is ranked the No.1 prospect by Elite Prospects, TSN's Bob McKenzie, McKeen's Hockey and Daily Faceoff. Tony Ferrari of The Hockey News has Michael Misa as his top prospect, an outlier as my scouts put Misa at No.2. But hey, this is maybe splitting hairs and more about team need from the team that wins the lottery.
In that regard, if it's the Predators at No.1 then the pick is Misa. But it's also a great luxury to have to choose between two potential NHL superstars. Misa just exploded for 134 points in the OHL and his draft stock has skyrocketed over the course of this past season.
Misa is listed as a center or winger, which really just increases his value. The Predators have been desperately searching to build around a homegrown, elite center for basically their entire existence as a franchise.
One of the many highlights of Misa's game that will make Predators fans salivate is his top end speed. You know, that important trait that the Predators are always lacking. Yeah Misa already has the raw skill set and the dude has been playing in the OHL since age 15.
Cory Pronman of The Athletic has this part of his scouting report of Misa that says it all for me that the Predators should take Misa at No.1, and without any question at No.2 if Schaefer goes No.1 and the Predators win the second-overall pick.
""Misa won't run guys over, but he competes well and is diligent without the puck. He projects as a star No. 1 center in the NHL that you can build a winning team around.""The Athletic
If Misa goes No.1 overall and the Predators are sitting No.2, then the decision becomes much more tricky. If you're adopting the old school approach of not over-complicating things and just taking the best player on the board, then it's no doubt Schaeffer.
The biggest team need might not be defenseman for the Predators, but Schaeffer has such a high ceiling to be a future All-Star, cornerstone defenseman that the Predators can't pass him up just because they really need a center.
So my pick is Schaeffer at No.2 and just pray he doesn't end up being the biggest bust we will have seen in a long time. A lot of major scouts will have completely missed on their scouting report of Schaeffer if that happens.
Let's also remember that the Predators have two additional first round picks, so the ability to draft a high end center will still be there later in the first round. Not to the same level of Misa or the others that are going around the top-5, but still some quality prospects to target.
What if the Predators fall to No.3....
If the lottery goes in order of probability and the Sharks and Blackhawks get the top two picks, then Nashville will slot into No.3 due to the order of the standings. Let's say as expected that Misa and Schaeffer are off the board and the Predators are next on the clock.
The major need of center creeps back into the conversation, and there are three guys to choose from that all have high end talent and chances to eventually become top-six centers.
James Hagens is getting the most praise after Misa when it comes to centers in this draft class, but his stock has also dropped a bit lately. Trending downward, but still has performed in some clutch moments on the big stage representing USA national development team.
Back to Pronman's scouting report currently on The Athletic, he has this to say about Hagens in his NHL comparisons:
""Hagens was also a go-to player for Team USA as they won gold at the World Juniors. He has a dynamic combination of skating and skill reminiscent of American centers like Logan Cooley and Jack Hughes. ""The Athletic
You also have Caleb Desnoyers out of the QMJHL. A big bodies, prototypical center. He carries more of a physical element to his game, while also not sacrificing his offensive abilities both with and without the puck.
In this highlight clip, Desnoyers crashes the net to get a slam dunk goal. Another clip in that highlight reel shows Desnoyers displaying his ability to play the true center role of making his linemates better around him.
Out of the top-three centers after Misa, the last one you have of the three is Anton Frondell. Another well-balanced and decent size center who can also play wing and be effective with his shot accuracy.
Frondell doesn't have the offensive numbers that jump off the screen, but he also played in a much more difficult league over in Sweden.
It is my expectation that the Predators, regardless of where they land from No.3 to No.5 will take one of these three players. It all depends whether they're picking three, four or five. Either way, there's a lot to like about all three.
If I'm picking No.3 and I have my choice of everyone but Schaeffer and Misa, I'm taking Hagens. He has proven it in really clutch moments and I love his projection of being a fast skater in open ice. Something the Predators have wanted to build around for over two decades.
If Hagens is gone and the Predators are picking at No.4, then flip a coin over Desnoyers or Frondell, but I'll go with Frondell. I love that he's already played against really difficult competition.
There's also Porter Martone, who plays the wing but has put up ridiculous numbers. My mock pick for the Predators would be taking Martone if they fall back to No.5 and he's still on the board, which might not even be the case.
After Misa and Schaeffer at No.1 and No.2, mock drafts are all over the place. The mock drafts are waiting for the lottery results and then we'll see how they're tweaked. Martone has top-5 skills, but the need for the Predators is so much higher for a primary center and it's not a foregone conclusion that Martone is the "best player available" when stacked up against Hagens.
If the Predators are selecting at No.4 or No.5, then Martone comes in play for the Predators. That's just my assessment, but this will be a fun draft to watch with a lot of suspense.
Preds Mock Draft Recap
#1 Pick: Michel Misa (Center/Wing, OHL)
#2 Pick: Matthew Schaeffer (Defenseman, OHL)
#3 Pick: James Hagens (Center, NCAA)
#4 Pick: Anton Frondell (Center/ Sweden)
#5 Pick: Porter Martone (Wing/OHL)