The Nashville Predators assigned forward Hiroki Gojsic (Kelowna/WHL) and defenseman Andrew Gibson (Sault Ste. Marie/OHL) to their respective junior teams Thursday, reducing the size of their training camp roster to 56 players. An updated roster can be found here.
One player of note who remains on the Predators’ training camp roster is defenseman Tanner Molendyk, Nashville’s first-round pick (No. 24 overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft. Most of his fellow 2023 draftees, including Kalan Lind, Joey Willis and Dylan MacKinnon, were assigned to their respective junior teams in the first wave of roster cuts, followed by Gibson – also a first-round pick – in the most recent wave.
Molendyk and forward Austin Roest are the only members of the Predators’ 2023 Draft class remaining at camp, but Roest is 20 years old and therefore eligible to play in the AHL this season if the Predators choose to assign him to the Milwaukee Admirals.
Molendyk, however, is only 19 and therefore must either return to his junior hockey team in Saskatoon (WHL) or stay with the NHL club this season. Making the NHL roster outright seems unlikely for Molendyk due to the depth Nashville currently has on defense; the last thing the Predators will want to do is rush a player to the NHL before he’s ready, especially if they don’t need to.
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There is a scenario in which the Predators could keep Molendyk in Nashville through opening night, however. Junior players under age 20 can play in up to nine NHL games before being sent back to the CHL without it impacting their contract situation. Molendyk signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Predators last year that won’t kick in until he plays his 10th game of professional hockey at either the AHL or NHL level.
So, while the Predators may just be keeping Molendyk at training camp a bit longer to give him an extended look before he breaks into the professional ranks next year, they could also give him a nine-game NHL audition before sending him back to Saskatoon. Time will tell which route the team chooses, but long-term development is likely going to take precedence over immediate roster improvement.
