Nashville Predators fans have made their feelings known about their team's fifth overall pick as the 2025 NHL Draft winds down. And wow, I was in shock when I flipped over to X and read about what Preds fans were saying following the Brady Martin pick last night.
While Martin was one of my favorite players in the draft class, a lot of Preds fans made their voices loud and clear: They wanted either James Hagens or Porter Martone. Whle I'd have been cool with eihter one of them, Martin brings such a surefire, three-zone brand that I was ecstatic to have seen him land in Smashville.
Another common denominator on X was this: Fire Trotz! Okay, I get it. Trotz tried to buy a championship and succeeded in helping the Preds achieve one of its most disappointing seasons in franchise history. But still, he got the Martin pick right, and I don't care what the consensus is.
Brady Martin's going to shut down the naysayers fast
Brady Martin reminds me of Brad Marchand, but a bigger version of him, along with Sam Bennett. A pair of forwards who just hoisted the Stanley Cup about 20 minutes ago. So, when you get a player you can compare to those two, who cares if it's a reach?
Martin's going to do one thing and one thing only when he eventually makes it to Nashville: He's helping the Preds win games, no doubt there. And he's someone they can build around. A future star who's going to play with an edge.
I wouldn't be surprised if Martin became a full-time player next season and made an immediate impact not long after. He'll be a 70-plus-point scorer in the NHL at some point, and you can count on him to land a good 150-plus body checks while he's at it.
Fans' thoughts on the Cameron Reid and Ryker Lee picks
As for Cameron Reid and Ryker Lee? For Reid, I saw very, very mixed results. Some liked it, other said it was alright, and a few still used the pick as more leverage to fire Trotz. Yeah, Trotz is on the hot seat for sure. At least that's the case with Preds fans. But I doubt a trio of draft picks that may help team out will get him fired.
I did like how one fan quipped about the Predators jersey - can we just bring back the navy blue ones, please? Anyway, now that I got that out of my system, what about Ryker Lee? Mixed to positive, if you want the short answer.
Personally, I thought Lee was a bold pick. Were there better available players? You could make the case for it. But if Lee improves his skating, he's going to transform from solid but unspectacular to hovering between good and great real fast. It was a pick I definitely liked.
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