Mismash Eager to Turn Pro, Ready to Join Predators Organization

Grant Mismash has been steadily "checking off the boxes" of his hockey career, as he says, and he recently made the most important mark to date.
Originally selected by the Predators in the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft, Nashville signed the 22-year-old Mismash to a two-year, entry-level contract that will begin in the 2021-22 season, as the forward completed his collegiate stay at the University of North Dakota.
Mismash scored a career-high 10 goals and added nine assists for 19 points in 20 games during his senior season to help lead the Fighting Hawks to the No. 1 overall seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

Despite missing nine games due to injury, the 6-foot-1, 181-pound forward came three points shy of matching his career high of 22 (9g-13a), set during his freshman campaign, and ended the season with points in five of his last seven games (4g-3a), including a goal in North Dakota's first-round contest against American International.
Next, he's ready to turn pro, and he'll do so with the organization that first called his name back in 2017.
"Being drafted was a dream come true, and now, we're kind of onto the next step in my life," Mismash said while traveling back home to Minneapolis. "It's been a little hectic the last few weeks, but it's been a lot of fun, and I'm just so excited that we got the deal done, and I'm just ready to get back to work and start training for next year. I enjoyed my time at North Dakota, and it's been a good journey so far."
Mismash concluded his four-year career at North Dakota with 71 points (32g-39a) and a +26 rating in 117 games. He earned several honors as a freshman, including a spot on the NCHC All-Rookie Team, picking up the conference's Rookie of the Week nod four times and being named the university's Male Freshman of the Year across all sports.
Overall, Mismash helped lead North Dakota to one NCAA Tournament appearance (2021), one NCHC Tournament title (2021) and two NCHC regular-season championships (2021, 2020) during his tenure with the school.
"North Dakota has been huge in my development on the ice, but most importantly off the ice," Mismash said. "The coaches put in so much time and effort to really make our experience at UND special, and we have a winning mentality every single season. The coaches do a tremendous job bringing guys in and let them mature, let them grow and find their game. That's kind of what I did over four years there, and I loved my time there and I wouldn't have it any other way.
"I just mainly found out what works for my body and preparing for games and preparing for practices day in and day out. Just learning from different teammates, different guys over the years has kind of been a crucial key for me, and being a sponge essentially, so that's my kind of take and excited for what's to come."
What exactly is next remains to be seen, but Mismash figures to get a shot at Predators training camp this fall to determine where he'll start the 2021-22 season within the organization's pipeline.
When he gets to Nashville after a summer of injury rehabilitation and training back home in Minnesota, Mismash won't have much trouble finding his way around thanks to his attendance at Predators Development Camps over the years, a key element in his development and realizing what it means to be a professional hockey player.
"Those camps are very influential on just kind of getting acclimated to the team right away at a young age throughout the years," Mismash said. "Just seeing different Nashville guys that are playing at other junior team or college teams, and then I still know guys that are either playing college or playing on the Preds right now or playing in Milwaukee, and it's good to meet those guys at development camp and see how their careers have progressed."
Add fellow 2017 Predators draftee David Farrance, who also signed his entry-level contract with the Preds after concluding his career at Boston University, to the list of players Mismash has kept in touch with, especially since the two are on similar paths. Mismash says the chatter between him and Farrance picked up in recent weeks after they inked their deals, and relationships like that are just one of the things Mismash is eager to embrace in the months to come.
"Just learning about myself - it's almost like a life test to look at it as just challenging myself this year and trying to learn as much as I can from different teammates and different guys," Mismash said. "It's going to be a new scene and culture for myself, so I'm just excited to meet new coaches, meet new teammates and meet new people."
For now, Mismash plans on laying low, while continuing to better himself on and off the ice this summer, and when the time comes to check some more boxes, he's confident he'll be ready to do so.
And every once in a while, Mismash has allowed himself to envision life in Nashville. He likes what he sees, so off to work he goes.
"If you're watching their games or you're there for development camp or whatever it is, you try to just imagine yourself doing that, like whatever the routine is, whatever those Nashville Predator guys were like," Mismash said. "Just trying to imagine yourself doing what they're doing, but now it becomes a situation where I want to make that my lifestyle. That's what I'm excited to try, you know, challenge myself to get there."