Nashville Predators Prospect Showcase, Future Stars Rising

The Nashville Predators were setting the standard with their prospects this week & it all came to a close with a scrimmage out in Bellevue.

Team Blue & Team Gold were tied 4-4 at the end of regulation. It ultimately came down to the shootout where Kasper Kulonummi & Ben Strinden scored to give Blue the win.

One of the highlights was seeing Gold nearly complete a comeback to win the scrimmage. Defenseman Andrew Gibson evened things up on a slap shot that became the final goal in regulation.

“Our team played pretty good––fought back––but lost in the shootout. It was a pretty good game,” Gibson said.

The former Detroit Red Wings prospect was grateful for his first look in Nashville after growing up & watching Ryan Ellis play for the Predators.

“I’ve grown my game a lot in the last couple of years, to see how far I’ve come I’m just proud and humble to experience this,” Gibson said. “It’s every kid’s dream and to be living that right now is an unreal feeling.”

Andrew Gibson on how surreal it was this week to develop with the #Preds pic.twitter.com/5QR7790iJI

— Nick Kieser🏒 (@KieserNick) July 6, 2024

Gibson was paired with highly touted defenseman Tanner Molendyk. The two had it down pat, albeit even in a scrimmage the duo had chemistry after being teammates for the first time this week. Both will go back to their junior teams for next season.

Nashville’s first pick in the 2024 draft Egor Surin was everywhere. He had multiple open-ice body checks & dictated the pace of offense on nearly every shift.

One of those hits was on forward Kalan Lind who got to experience the full magnitude of Surin’s physicality.

“I took one there in the jaw a little bit, just a stinger,” Lind said chuckling. “There’s a couple of guys they drafted this year and last year that bring that physical aspect.”

Lind was complimentary of Surin’s talent on both sides of the puck. The Red Deer Rebel saw firsthand how Surin bulldozes himself to get past players while also making an offensive attempt to get a puck on the net.

“He’s going to be a really good player in this league. He’s chasing pucks going as hard as he can & running guys all over the ice,” Lind said.

One prospect who signed as an undrafted free agent in the fall of 2022 was Nolan Burke. Last summer the forward was rehabbing from a hernia surgery so he had to watch the showcase whereas this time he contributed to the scoresheet.

“It gives you a glimpse of what it could be like going up there & it gives you the motivation to work as hard as you can to make it one day,” Burke said. “It was just great to be out there.”

The trend for the prospects was speed & skill. Burke was able to utilize his skill to gauge where he fits in at the next level. He buried a loose puck after Surin fired an early shot on the net which is right up his wheelhouse.

Nashville’s prospects after their showcase on July 6, 2024.

“It made it easy out there to play your game & rely on the guys around you as you make plays and get it back to them,” Burke said. “We had a couple of goals and chances out there.”

This week was a stepping stone for players who will also be at the Predators training camp in September. Head coach Andrew Brunette was around watching all week in different time slots to see what he has down the pipeline.

All eyes will be on what’s next for the Predators as September rolls around in a few months. General manager Barry Trotz may have a challenging move to make before camp arrives or it could come right before the regular season.