We finally have some Nashville Predators hockey to talk about, and the vibes are off to a winning start with the prospects winning their first two games over the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning prospects.
The open the annual Prospect Tournament down in Tampa, the Predators prospects took on the Lightning prospects. The Predators rolled out a talented starting lineup in the opening game, going with a workhorse top forward line of Reid Schaefer, Brady Martin and Joakim Kemell. All three have high chances of playing for the Predators in the NHL at some point in the upcoming season.
On defense, the top pairing was led by Ryan Ufko and Jack Matier. Ufko is a fourth-round pick by Nashville in 2021 and has already made his NHL debut last season. Matier is heading into the last season of his entry level contract and was also taken in the fourth round of 2021 by Nashville.
And between the pipes, the Predators started things off with Ethan Haider, a 2019 fifth-round pick by Nashville. He's in search of a new contract with the Predators and getting his shot in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals.
Haider looked really good in the matchup against the Lightning prospects, shaking off a 1st period goal surrendered and hold strong until being replaced by Jakub Milota midway through regulation.
Milota is a much more recent draft pick by the Predators, being selected in the fourth round of 2024 and also seeking a new contract. Milota would surrender just one goal as well, allowing the Predators to really lean on their star players on offense to bring home the win.
The highlight goal of the game goes to Joakim Kemell, who we expected to be one of the standouts at the tournament considering he has high hopes of making the NHL roster out of training camp this year.
Kemell would score on a pinpoint laser of a shot, a skill we are all well aware he possesses. This was courtesy of a pass from Brady Martin on the power play.
Joakim Kemell with a LASER 🎯 pic.twitter.com/7SNGpUTu6l
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) September 12, 2025
The fifth-overall pick from this past year's draft wasn't done making things happen for Nashville. Martin would score on a penalty shot as well, giving the Predators a 2-1 lead. Martin wasn't a fan of the ice to make moves on the penalty shot, so instead he improvised, per the Predators official website.
""I was kind of just coming in, and I was going to deke, but then the ice was kind of bad, so I was like, I'll just shoot it. And kind of just eyeballed it, I guess.”"Brady Martin, via Preds Website
Encouraging to see two of your future superstars making such big impacts right away in Kemell and Martin.
Admirals Head Coach Karl Taylor on Joakim Kemell: “Kemmy is ready for that next opportunity. Whatever that means, right? Whether that's an elite player in the American League or it's a player in the National Hockey League, he's been with us for a while. He's trying to show that…
— Brooks Bratten (@brooksbratten) September 13, 2025
Then the game-winner would come from yet another prospect who is trending upward through the pipeline and has a strong chance to one day be playing on the blueline for Nashville. That prospect is defenseman Andrew Gibson who was originally drafted by the Detroit Red Wings but traded to the Predators in the 2024 offseason.
Nashville Predators prospects keep the momentum going against Carolina prospects
In Game 2 of the prospect tournament, the Predators would look a little sloppy with a lot of penalties and giving up a couple power play goals as a result. However, this group showed the resiliency you want to see from the young players by completing the comeback win.
The Predators would go with Martin again leading the top line with Kemell, but moving up 2022 fourth-round pick Cole O'Hara. O'Hara made his AHL debut for the Admirals last season and we should see a lot of him as an important player for that squad this coming season.
O'Hara played three seasons in the NCAA for UMASS before getting his chance with the Admirals last season. He scored 22 goals and 51 points in his final collegiate season, and would go on to score a goal in this prospect tournament game on a redirect goal by getting into the shooting lane and causing chaos.
Crafty goal by O'Hara and something coaches really love to see from a young player.
Kalan Lind, a second-round pick from 2022 who plays left wing, scored a really nifty goal on the backhand to tie it back up at 2-2 in the third period. A clutch response goal for Lind, who is another prospect who is ready for the next step with the Admirals.
Finally, to complete the comeback the Predators would get a goal from Reid Schaefer on a primary assists from Ryan Ufko.
So in the first two games there's a lot to like. You're seeing some of the top prospects in the pipeline making big impacts, with Kemell standing out the most as the most NHL-ready prospect of the entire group. He didn't disappoint, but neither did Martin in his top line role and Schaefer and Gibson scoring the game-winners.
The Predators will wrap up the tournament on Monday against the Florida Panthers prospects. Then it's time for training camp and preseason.