The Nashville Predators have had great success selecting in the first round of the NHL Draft.
In their 28-season history, the Predators have drafted 30 players in the first round, three of which were goalies. It goes without saying that not all of these selections paid off for Nashville. Here are the five worst picks the team ever made, whether it was management's fault or not.
1. Brian Finley (G)
Finley was drafted sixth overall in the 1999 NHL Draft and was a highly touted upon goalie prospect. With it being just the Predators second draft in their history, it was supposed to be a crucial pick to help build this franchise from its foundation up. Unfortunately for both the Preds and Finley, their relationship at the NHL level was minimal.
It was an unfortunate situation for both parties. Injury and consistency issues held Finley back from becoming the star goalie many scouts saw him as. There weren't too many other options for Nashville considering 1999 is one of the weakest draft classes to date. He retired at just 25 years old. It is a great example of the risks you take when drafting a goalie that high in the draft, especially that early in your organization's journey.
2. Chet Pickard (G)
Most of the Predators first round goalie selections ended badly, and this also applied to Pickard, who they drafted 18th overall in 2008. Despite being considered one of the top goalie prospects from that year, he never played a single NHL game in his career. After a stretch of strong campaigns in the WHL, he moved onto the Milwaukee Admirals and didn't live up to the same hype. In his first season in the AHL, he posted an .892 SV%. When he was sent to the ECHL, a level below the AHL, he posted worse numbers, posting an .877 SV%.
He also struggled to compete with organizational prospects, being shoved out of the light by franchise goalie Pekka Rinne. After not finding his roots in North America's top leagues, Pickard eventually moved on to Europe where he would find moderate success in DEL and Denmark.
3. Ryan Parent (D)
Parent is a situation of 'what if.' He was drafted 18th overall in 2005 but never played a single game for Nashville. He was used as trade bait in the Peter Forsberg trade, which Predators fans know didn't end up well. We didn't re-sign Forsberg due to injury concerns, so trading away Parent practically returned little value. A short stint of Forsberg isn't enough to make up for the potentially value lost. Parent did encounter consistent injury troubles and retired early. It will forever be a what if for the Preds.
4. Yaroslav Askarov (G)
This has become a predictable list at this point. While the Predators have been good at drafting goalies, such as Rinne and Juuse Saros, they sometimes don't hit it in the NHL as easily. Askarov is still a very promising player, don't get me wrong. His numbers in the KHL and MHL were very strong and easily made him one of the top Russian prospects at the time.
The reason why this is considered a bust is because of how the Predators managed him. When Askarov was developing in the AHL, they decided to sign Saros to a max-term deal which signaled to Askarov that his days in Nashville were numbered. With little room left to grow, Askarov requested a trade and was dealt to the San Jose Sharks where he is struggling to make a name out of himself. He looked strong in his short stint with Nashville, but his San Jose tenure so far is raising questions.
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