Fansided

2018 NHL Draft: Report card grades for every team

By Jeremy Lambert

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes and Jesperi Kotkaniemi of the Montreal Canadians pose for a picture of the 2018 NHL draft on June 22, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes and Jesperi Kotkaniemi of the Montreal Canadians pose for a picture of the 2018 NHL draft on June 22, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
31 of 32
Next
WINNIPEG, MB – MAY 1: Ryan Hartman #38 of the Nashville Predators plays the puck down the ice during first period action against the Winnipeg Jets in Game Three of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 1, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Jets defeated the Preds 7-4 and lead the series 2-1. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB – MAY 1: Ryan Hartman #38 of the Nashville Predators plays the puck down the ice during first period action against the Winnipeg Jets in Game Three of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 1, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Jets defeated the Preds 7-4 and lead the series 2-1. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Nashville Predators – D

No First Round Pick

Nashville used this pick to acquire Ryan Hartman. The Predators were already the best team in the league when the deal was made, but felt Hartman would give them some depth scoring. The experiment failed as Hartman didn’t provide secondary scoring, got suspended in the playoffs, and ended up getting benched for a couple of games. Hartman is only 23 years old, so this deal could end up working out for the Predators. For that reason, I won’t knock them too much.

Other Notable Picks: Jachym Kondelik (C) (111), Spencer Stastney (D) (131)

The Predators lost their second-round pick as part of the Kyle Turris trade. There was nothing wrong with that deal as they got a top-six player that they were unlikely to find late in the second in 2018. Of course, they also gave up Samuel Girard. They traded their third-round pick this season for Florida’s third-round pick next season. After all the wheeling and dealing, Nashville was left with just four picks. Jachym Kondelik fell from 27th at the midterm to 48th among North American skaters in Central Scoutings rankings. I can only assume they thought Spencer Stastney was part of the Stastny family and overlooked the E between the N and Y.

The bad news for Nashville is that they had no high-end draft picks in a draft that didn’t feature a ton of depth. The worse news for Nashville is that, at first glance, it doesn’t appear like they found a diamond in the rough. The good news for Nashville is that their trades made sense. Ryan Hartman and Kyle Turris are worth a first and second round pick.

While I put some stock into previous trades, the majority of my final grade is made up of what happened on Friday and Saturday. And Nashville may as well have stayed home.

Home/NHL Draft