Who Could the Nashville Predators Take in the First Round?
With the NHL Draft Lottery being revealed earlier this week, the Nashville Predators now know where they will be picking in the first round of this year’s draft.
Nashville holds the No. 10 overall pick in the draft. The news is not surprising considering Nashville was projected to be picking 10th overall before the lottery took place. While the draft lottery overall was quite the surprise with the Toronto Maple Leafs jumping up all the way to the top pick and the San Jose Sharks jumping up to the second pick, the Predators did not deviate from their projected odds.
Now, the most important question heading into the draft in June: who will the Nashville Predators take with the No. 10 pick in the draft?
ESPN released its first post-lottery mock draft Friday morning. In the mock draft, ESPN’s Rachel Kryshak projected that the Predators will select Ethan Belchetz. Belchetz is a left winger from Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League.
During the 2025-2026 season, Belchetz has scored 34 goals and assisted on 25 goals for a total of 59 points on the year. He has helped lead Windsor this season to winning the West Division in the OHL.
What makes Belchetz sought after as a prospect is his size. Belchetz is 6-foot-5 and weighs 228 pounds. Scouts agree on a consensus that his frame helps give a presence of physicality to a team. The Predators drafting a guy that can contribute on the scoreboard and make a difference in the flow of momentum seems like a good fit.
The Predators are in need of a guy to help strengthen their depth on either of the wings, maybe Belchetz could be that guy. Belchetz can also be a young face on a roster that is a blend of veterans that are on the tail ends of their careers and younger guys that could help form the core of the future.
The knock on Belchetz that has a tendency to show up in scouting reports is that he needs to improve on his speed. Perhaps that could be a result of his big size as a player, but a guy that is to play left winger at the NHL level would need to get faster.
Another thing to consider is who will take over as the Predators general manager and when it will happen. One would think it would probably happen before the draft, which makes this 10th pick an interesting look into the direction the new front office may take the franchise.
Whoever the Predators take, they are hoping it will be the guy that helps get them back into the playoffs. The Predators are coming off a 38-34-10 season where they fell just four points shy of the final playoff spot.
The first round of the NHL Draft will take place June 26 in Buffalo, New York.
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Graham Baakko is a lead writer for both Nashville Predators On SI and Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham graduated from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as an intern for GamecockCentral.