Recent improvements notwithstanding, the Nashville Predators are still the third-worst team in the NHL. Only the bottom-dwelling Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks are worse this season.
But, having said that, the Predators are in a position that those two teams are not. After selecting Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini in 2023 and 2024, respectively, the Blackhawks and Sharks have their franchise players already.
The Predators do not.
This can (and probably will) lead to unpredictable results at the top of the draft order, which bodes well for Nashville. And for this exercise, we’ll ignore the existence of the draft lottery and have the Predators pick from where their selections are in the standings.
With the third pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, the Nashville Predators select…
James Hagens, Center, Boston College (NCAA)
Maybe we’re reading too much into this, but the Blackhawks took Sacha Boisvert in the first round in 2024, and Oliver Moore in the first round in 2023. Bedard needs a running mate rather than center depth behind him, so Porter Martone goes there at No. 1.
At No. 2, the Sharks take Matthew Schaefer, the top defenseman in this draft class. With players like Celebrini, William Eklund, Fabian Zetterlund, Will Smith, Quentin Musty, Collin Graf, and Igor Chernyshev in the NHL or coming through the system, San Jose opts to build out the defense, taking a rearguard in the first round for the second year in a row.
This allows the Predators to land James Hagens, generally the first- or second-ranked forward, with the third pick.
Hagens, a Hauppauge, N.Y., native, has five goals, 16 assists, and 21 points in 19 games with Boston College this season. The 18-year-old also played for Team USA at the 2025 World Junior Championships, rattling off five goals, four assists, and nine points in seven games as he, Teddy Stiga, and Joey Willis won a Gold Medal.
Although Hagens is on the smaller side at 5-foot-10, he’s the full package offensively. Hagens is smart, quick, competitive, dangerous, and deceptive–usually all at the same time–with the puck on his stick. The Boston College ace can manipulate his opponents with and without the puck, giving him the makings of a surefire offensive threat at the NHL level.
The Predators, who have scored the fewest goals in the NHL this year, need that in the worst way.
With the 20th pick (TBL) in the 2025 NHL Draft, the Nashville Predators select…
Blake Fiddler, Right Defence, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
Every NHL team…