Draft Review

 

Round 4 (111^th overall) – Jachym Kondelik, C

 

Kondelik is a 6-6 centreman who completed his second year of the USHL where he increased his points from 15 to 34, which was also his second year in North America. He put up 71 points in 49 games in the Czech U18 league and 47 points in 56 games in the Czech U16 league. Kondelik could be a sneaky good fourth round selection that could eventually make the NHL. He has the skill to run a powerplay from the point and can use his body well to take over down low. The problem is that Kondelik is not really great at anything, including skating, thereby restricting how high of an upside he could have as he likely tops out as a second line centre (at best) or a depth role player (at worst).

 

Round 5 (131^st overall) – Spencer Stastney, D

 

Stastney is a 5-10 college defenseman who, this past season, posted the most points in his career. It is concerning that since 2014-2015 he has never scored more than three goals in a season, but he can post assists in a bottom-two pairing role. Stastney will be playing for the University of Notre Dame in 2018-2019 and a season in the NCAA will help see his future development, but it is unlikely he will ever make the NHL.

 

Round 5 (151^st overall) – Vladislav Yeryomenko, D

 

Yeryomenko really picked up his play once Bean was traded from the Calgary Hitmen as he given more minutes and responsibility. He posted 41 points in 63 games in his second year in the WHL for a rebuilding Hitman squad, a vast improvement on the 25 he posted a season earlier. Yeryomenko is a solid skater and has a strong shot, but he is rather slender. This pick could become a sneaky value pick that could quarterback a powerplay and be able to play in today’s NHL. He is a long shot to make the NHL but there is always a chance.

 

Round 7 (213^th overall) – Milan Kloucek, G

 

Kloucek is a relative unknown as a goaltender, in a sense it screams of the same situation on how the Preds found Pekka Rinne. He has strong numbers when starting at least 27 games so there is skill there, but in the 2017-2018 season Kloucek did not play more than 10 games in any league, as he played 10, 10, seven, and two respectively. He will likely be sticking in the main Czech league and as the season progresses hopefully he can become the starter.

 

 

Development Camp Notes:

 

The Predators held the team’s annual development camp from June 25 to June 29, the following players were in attendance:

 

 

In case the picture does not show well: https://nhl.bamcontent.com/images/assets/binary/299262386/binary-file/file.pdf

 

A final recap on the Preds final days of camp is here, as I am covering for the Nashville writer but did not see any development camp:

 

https://www.nhl.com/predators/news/preds-development-camp-concludes-with-thrilling-future-stars-game/c-299351866

 

 

Offseason Moves:

 

The Predators have made no trades since the draft was completed.

 

Nashville signed UFA Zac Rinaldo to a one-year $650,000 deal to just take up a roster spot and one of the 50 total contracts

The team re-signed both Ryan Hartman (one-year, $875,000 deal) and Jusse Saros (three year, $4.5 million) on July16.

 

Hartman is likely looking at a bottom-six roster spot for the upcoming season as the Preds have a pretty loaded top six, and going forward the Preds will likely keep him as a third line full-time forward considering the spent a first round pick on him.

 

Saros’ contract could be considered a steal if he performs like many fantasy GMs hope, past the 2018-2019 season when he won’t have Rinne being paid $7 million as a starter.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed. Check back next month for another Nashville 31-in-31. Pat Quinn

 

Follow me on twitter: @FHPQuinn