Fast Rising prospects to watch at 2024 Nashville Predators Rookie Showcase

After a long and hectic 2024 offseason, the regular season is almost here for the Nashville Predators, with the Rookie Showcase up next. The rookies will report to camp on September 11 for their first practice.

Much like their NHL affiliate Nashville Predators, the Milwaukee Admirals have also gone through some changes after having another successful season that came up just short of qualifying for the Calder Cup Finals.

This year figures to be much more challenging for some of the rookies to break into the NHL lineup after the Predators went so heavy in the free agency spending. But as we all know, injuries and unexpected circumstances always come up.

Daily Faceoff recently released their prospect pool rankings of all 32 NHL teams and puts the Nashville Predators at No.13. You've lost Yaroslav Askarov, but the team has drafted very well on paper the past few drafts.

The Nashville rookies will once again face off against the rookies from the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes. This year it's being hosted in Nashville at the Ford Ice Center in Bellevue.

L'Heureux looks to build off momentum from rookie season in Milwaukee

Leading the charge for the Nashville rookies will be Zachary L'Heureux, a prospect widely-regarded as the most NHL-ready who has yet to actually make their NHL debut. He has the tenacity and grit that works perfectly into Head Coach Andrew Brunette's fast-pace system.

L'Heureux's development took a big step forward in 2023-24. It was his first season playing in the AHL professionally, and there were legitimate concerns about his on-ice disciplinary problems and if he could keep his emotions in check when the competition stepped up from the junior leagues to the AHL.

Now L'Heureux's penalty minutes were still sky high and he obviously has to improve on that, but it's also a product of the style he plays that makes him such a strong prospect. Coaches have to find a way to not discourage him from playing his style, but also to find that healthy balance. You can't be taking major penalties in critical moments of the game.

Expect L'Heureux to emerge as one of the leaders on the ice for this rookie camp and in competition against the other rookie squads. Let's see if he carries the momentum he is surging on from the Calder Cup Playoffs where he potted 10 goals in 15 playoff games.

Kemell is getting closer to getting an NHL debut

Kemell likely needs another full season in the AHL before we can really start clamoring for his NHL debut, but the guy looked the part in his rookie season with the Milwaukee Admirals. He has the ridiculously accurate shot and raw offensive skills.

Kemell was fourth on the Admirals in points with 41 and tied for third on the team in goals with 16, only trailing L'Heureux and the now departed Egor Afanasyev.

At only 20-years-old, there's no reason to rush Kemell's development. This rookie showcase should be rewarding for the former 17th-overall pick from 2022. He needs more time to marinate in the AHL, but if things get crazy with the NHL roster, then I don't see it entirely impossible that he makes his NHL debut in the next year.

We're all going to be looking for that electric shot Kemell has at the showcase, but we should also be looking to see how his two-way game is coming along.

Chrona is the new goalie in town after the Askarov trade

I'm really going to be interested to see how Magnus Chrona looks at rookie camp. He had a rough go of it in his brief amount of NHL time for the San Jose Sharks, but can anyone really blame him for that?

New scenery might just be what the doctor ordered for Chrona. Sure, he's nowhere near on the same status level as Askarov, but he can certainly become the No.3 goalie in the Nashville pipeline and the top goalie for the Admirals.

Chrona played nine games in the NHL last season, 31 games in the AHL and two games in the ECHL. With what appears to be a much better roster in front of him now with the Admirals, let's see if his numbers can improve.

Chrona was drafted in the fifth round by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018. He has the physical stature of being 6'6" to his advantage, but has a lot of the technical skills to build in his game. Goalie coach Mitch Korn should be a huge help to Chrona.

Molendyk the next prodigy for the defense?

Everyone should be hyped up about seeing Tanner Molendyk at this year's rookie showcase. He's one of the smoothest skaters you'll see among NHL prospects. He is a true prototype defenseman of today's NHL.

Molendyk should have some highlight reel plays in store for us against the rookies from Tampa Bay, Florida and Carolina. He's explosive, he pushes the pace and if everything goes according to plan, he could one day end up being Roman Josi 2.0. But I know, I'm getting ahead of myself with that one.

Molendyk is getting ready for another season in the WHL with the Saskatoon Blades. It will be his fifth season with the Blades, and his offensive production has steadily increased over that time to this past season when he put up 56 points in 50 games as his squad went to the playoffs.

We're still at least a couple years away from Molendyk getting into the NHL, but it's going to be fun to watch his steady rise through the prospect ranks and eventually to the Broadway.

To refresh your memory, the additional first round pick that was used to select Molendyk was received in the Mattias Ekholm trade in March 2023.

Svechkov has steadily improved his game since being drafted

You always want to see your top-tier draft picks show steady improvement on their path to the NHL. Almost all of these prospects are work-in-progress, even the first round picks.

Svechkov was viewed originally as a safe pick, but scouts were skeptical about his NHL ceiling. I remember seeing a lot of analysis on Svechkov not having a particularly impressive offensive game that will allow him to be in the top-six of an NHL lineup.

I would have to say that Svechkov silenced some of the skeptics with how he performed offensively for the Admirals in his rookie season in the NHL. He tallied 16 goals in his first season of North American hockey in a league that isn't easy to transition to for overseas players.

Svechkov already has the two-way game and strong senses as a defensive forward. If his offensive game can keep showing a steady rise, then he'll be a lock to get to the NHL maybe as soon as 2025-26.

Much like Kemell, Svechkov probably needs at least another full season of AHL development. He'll get top minutes with the Admirals and it will serve him so much more than jumping too fast to the NHL.

Plus, the Predators don't have room for prospects in their lineup anyway. The Predators lineup is all but set, especially among their forwards.

Svechkov has a high probability of reaching the NHL within the next two seasons, but he still has a ways to go with the Admirals. He should be one of the leaders at the rookie showcase.