Predators' Adam Boqvist dawns a new Ice Age
2018-07-31DALLAS, TX - Things had been quiet in Nashville for quite some time. With no appearance in the playoffs this season, the Bridgestone arena in Nashville was dormant. The lights in the press boxes were off. There wasn't a whole lot of activity going on other than the odd concert. On the hockey front - GM Eric Wolfs office was quiet, the players had been long gone on their summer vacations already. Until one day on July 1st at 5 am in the morning, you could see the light in Wolfs office suddenly illuminate back on in the cold dark arena - it was time for the Predators to get back to work. The draft was coming.
The Predators boasted a total of 7 picks in this years draft - 9th, 61st, 71st, 81st, 102nd, 112th, and 133rd overall selections. The Preds made zero deals around the draft and elected to use all the picks they had at their disposal. "There was a ton of interest for our 9th overall selection" Wolf said. "We were considering moving it, there was a couple options to bring in a top defenseman with it, but ultimately it goes against our philopshy of drafting and developing in Nashville - even when you are trying to compete, I still believe stocking the prospect pipeline is just as important. Having club controlled assets is very valuable in a league like EHE, and I would much rather use a high draft pick on a very good player then deal it for a player we may or may not get 3-4 years out of."
The Predators walk away from the draft with 7 players in total - 2 defenseman from Sweden, 2 goalies from Finland, and 3 forwards - one from America, one from Russia, and one from Switzerland.
With the 9th overall selection, the Nashville Predators drafted what they hope is their lord and swedish saviour on defense - ADAM BOQVIST - (9th overall)
Adam Boqvist becomes the first ever defenseman drafted by the Predators in the 1st round in franchise history. For a team who's struggled to maintain any type of consistent blueline. Adam Boqvist marks the beginning of a new ice age for the Predators blueline.
"It was always Adam Boqvist for us. Even as early as when the season ended and we knew we'd be picking at 9th, even before the draft lottery, we had Boqvist penciled in as our pick. So we are absolutely thrilled to have him in the gold and blue." Wolf said. "Things got scary for us there. When Buffalo drafted Brady Tkachuk at 4th overall, we were all pulling our hair out as they had the 8th overall pick - all of us felt Buffalo was going to take a defenseman - Boqvist with their 8th overall selection. But when they announced Vitaly Kravtsov as their pick, we all gasped out with a sigh of relief. That's how badly we wanted our guy in Adam Boqvist. We thought he was a Sabre for sure, but we're happy he ended up in a different shade of gold and blue."
With the 61st overall selection, the Nashville Predators drafted their 2nd swedish right handed defenseman of the draft - AXEL ANDERSSON - (61st overall)
Axel Andersson joins countrymen Adam Boqvist as the first two picks for the Predators. A skilled right handed defenseman with good puck moving ability - Andersson and Boqvist signal a new era of prospects for the Predators blueline.
"It's been known for awhile that we wanted to focus rebuilding our blueline. So it was a no brainer for us to use our top 2 picks on skilled defenseman. We are very excited about Andersson and his development path has been quite promising. He's a talented skilled blueliner that can lead a powerplay. He's going to be playing for Djurgardens IF in the SHL next season, so we will be watching his progress closely. We have very high hopes for him and hope him, along with Boqvist, we hope both can join our team and be effective players for many years to come."
With the 71st overall selection, the Nashville Predators moved their sights away from Sweden and to America, where they drafted a promising forward out of Boston College - LOGAN HUTSKO - (71st overall)
"Hutsko was on our radar early on, and over the course of the season really grew to like him. I overheard some 'analysts' saying we may have taken him early, but our team is just so high on this kid, we didn't want to risk him getting selected before our next pick at 81st. Hutsko has dealt with quite a few injury problems in his career, but he managed to overcome that with adversity and dominated Boston College this past season and was their leading scorer. That is something we really liked about him, and he fits that mold of the type of player we want representing our Predators hockey club."
With the 81st overall selection, the Nashville Predators went to Russia to draft a skillful boom or bust forward - BULAT SHAFIGULLIN - (81st overall)
"Shafigullin is a very skilled forward. He makes decisions fast with or without the puck, and we feel his hockey IQ is above average, more so compared to most skilled russians his age, he understands the game very well. He already logged 17 games in the KHL as an 18 year old, which is no small feat. We're impressed with his career so far and are excited about his next steps in his development. We were excited to watch him closely all season long, so we're even more excited now to secure his rights."
With the 102nd overall selection, the Nashville Predators drafted - believe it or not - the first goalie they have ever drafted in franchise history. That's over 4 years! Coming to Nashville is an overage out of Finland - VEINI VEHVILAINEN - (102nd overall)
"Vehvilainen becomes the first goalie we've ever drafted, which is a little embarassing to admit now. But our goaltending depth is something we really needed to address, and Vehvilainen was at the top of our goalie list in the entire draft, so we are very thrilled to add him. We are excited about the system he's in over in Finland, and he's progressively gotten better and better every year. We hope he makes the jump to North america because we are really confident in his abilities and his potential to be a solid goalie for us if he does decide to come over."
With the 112th overall selection, the Nashville Predators drafted their 2nd Finnish goalie, and also out of Karpat in the SM-liiga - JUSTUS ANNUNEN - (112th overall)
"Honestly, we were just surprised to still see Annunen on the board here. Annunen was a close 2nd on our draft board in terms of goalies, so to be able to add him, who's also a teammate to Vehvilainen, it was a no brainer for us. He's 3 years younger than Vehvilainen, so he still has a lot of time to develop. They'll both be sharing the crease next season with Karpat in the SM-liiga, which we are happy about and hope it helps both of their development in some way." Wolf said. "We were severely lacking goaltender depth, and without these guys, we would've had to bring shooter tutors to development camp cause we would of been lacking goaltenders."
With the 133rd and final pick for the Predators, they set their sights on a skilled Swiss forward from the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL - PHILIPP KURASHEV - (133rd overall)
"With this pick, we were circling around on a half dozen players, but ultimately in the end, our guts told us to take Philipp Kurashev. He's a very intriguing prospect, born and raised in Switzerland, but with russian descent, playing in Canada with the Remparts. He scored 60 pts in 59 games with the Remparts last season. He has the skillset to be a very dynamic scoring forward, and we're eager to monitor his development over the next few years. We're hopeful he'll make the Predators roster one day in the future."
Now that the 2018 entry draft is under wraps, Wolf and his team will be flying back home tomorrow to Nashville, TN, as they will begin preparations for free agency where they hope to fill in a few holes in the organization.