The Nashville Predators assigned five players to their respective junior teams earlier this week, bringing their training camp roster down to 58 players. While players were initially divided into three practice groups at the start of camp, the roster cuts saw the number of groups reduce to two.
Group A consists of Nashville’s presumed NHL starters, as well as some “fringe” players who may not make the Opening Night roster but are getting an extended look in camp as they figure to be call-up candidates in case of injury later in the season. Group B is comprised of players who are expected to be assigned to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators or their respective junior teams for the 2024-25 season.
Related: Nashville Predators Training Camp Notebook: Sept. 24, 2024
Some of the players without NHL experience joining the starters in Group A include forwards Ozzy Wiesblatt and Zachary L’Heureux and defenseman Adam Wilsby. They are expected to start the season in Milwaukee but could potentially make their NHL debuts at some point during the 2024-25 season.
There are still two weeks to go until the Predators drop the puck against the Dallas Stars for their season opener at Bridgestone Arena, and plenty could change between now and then. In the meantime, however, here is a still-too-early prediction for Nashville’s 2024-25 Opening Night roster based on what we’ve seen in training camp so far:
Forward Lines
Filip Forsberg – Ryan O’Reilly – Gustav Nyquist
Steven Stamkos – Tommy Novak – Jonathan Marchessault
Philip Tomasino – Colton Sissons – Luke Evangelista
Cole Smith – Michael McCarron – Juuso Pärssinen
Defensive Pairings
Brady Skjei – Roman Josi
Jeremy Lauzon – Alexandre Carrier
Marc Del Gaizo – Luke Schenn
Goaltenders
Juuse Saros
Scott Wedgewood
Extra/Healthy Scratches
Mark Jankowski (F)
Dante Fabbro (D)
Spencer Stastney (D)*
Power Play
1st Unit: Stamkos, Marchessault, Forsberg, O’Reilly, Josi
2nd Unit: Novak, Evangelista, Tomasino, Nyquist, Skjei
Penalty Kill
1st Unit: Lauzon, Carrier, Sissons, Smith
2nd Unit: Skjei, Schenn, McCarron, O’Reilly
First Call-ups (Milwaukee/AHL)
In no particular order: Spencer Stastney (D)*, Adam Wilsby (D), Zachary L’Heureux (F), Ozzy Wiesblatt (F)
*Defenseman Spencer Stastney has been absent from training camp for personal reasons, and his status for the start of the season remains unknown. Given that he is signed to a two-way contract for the 2024-25 season, it’s likely that he will be assigned to Milwaukee whenever he does return since he has not been able to practice with the rest of the team at training camp.
