Bright Future On Display as Preds Development Camp Concludes With Future Stars Game

In front of a full house at Ford Ice Center Bellevue on Friday, the Predators prospects concluded Development Camp by putting on a show. 

Wyatt Cullen - the 10th overall pick in last week’s NHL Draft - scored what proved to be the game-winner as Team Blue defeated Team Gold by a 2-1 final in the Future Stars Game presented by Ticketmaster, while Ryker Lee and Egor Surin showed off in the postgame shootout before the day was done. 

And Predators fans weren’t the only ones left in awe at what they saw on the ice. 

A few linemates felt the same way, too. 

“It’s fun playing with him - like, he’s just so strong, and he's a man amongst boys out there,” Lee said of Surin. “It's pretty crazy the way he can get the puck for us, so it's awesome.”

“It's pretty unbelievable,” Cullen said of skating on a line with Lee and Surin. “They’re both unbelievable players. I kind of grew up a little bit watching Ryker Lee, a couple years of me playing against him. I think he's such a good player, and it would be super fun to play with him in the future.”

The entire Nashville organization is certainly hopeful for that day to come, but for now, the prospect pool remains strong - especially with six first-round picks in the last three years who are all very much improving on a daily basis. 

Cullen (2026), Lee (2025) and Surin (2024), as well as Brady Martin (2025), Cameron Reid (2025) and Tommy Bleyl (2026) all fit into that first-round category, and they showed exactly why they help to make up one of the top prospect groups in the NHL. 

“[Reid] and Tommy Bleyl, they're both impressive, and Egor Surin, he's such a force of nature, and he's so big, so physical,” defenseman Alex Huang - who scored for Team Gold on Friday, said of his teammates. “Ryker Lee, [Martin] as well, they're all impressive - and Wyatt Cullen was great as well. It’s a great prospect pool. There’s a lot of talent that goes around. I mean, Aiden Fink was a 7th round pick and he might be a future NHLer. So, I think it just shows how [well] the scouting department has done in the last few years.”

“The two [2026] first rounders, Wyatt and Tommy, they show a ton of skill,” forward Ben Strinden said. “They’ve got a lot of potential. Obviously, [Martin], Ryker, [goaltender Jack Ivankovic] was a rock all week. I mean, there's a lot of great prospects in the organization, so I think the fans should be really excited.”

An energetic showing from Preds fans didn’t hurt either, and the prospects certainly took notice. 

“The fans are great here,” Huang said. “I think that people don't realize that even though Tennessee is a warmer state, it’s still a good state for hockey. So, we were really happy to see a good crowd today.”

“It was pretty cool just to kind of show the fans how I play and what I'm about, and it was pretty cool to hear them cheer for me,” said Cullen, who spent two years growing up in Nashville when his father, Matt, played for the Preds. “It’s kind of a surreal feeling to be here, and I really enjoyed being out there. The fans are going to be electric [in the future as well], so I’m excited for it.”

Less than a week ago, Cullen was waiting to hear his name called by the Preds at the Draft. Now, with his first Development Camp to his name, how does the 17-year-old feel about his inaugural showing with the Nashville organization? 

“[I] just [tried] to have the mindset of just taking it all in, soaking it all in this week,” Cullen said. “I think I did that, and I'm super excited in the future to play here eventually. I’m just going to go year by year and see how each year goes, but it's an unbelievable organization, coaching staff, everything. So, I'm super grateful to be a part of it.”

The feeling is mutual, and no matter where all of the week’s participants are headed next season, one thing is for certain - they’ll be better off thanks to the Development Camp experience.

“I think being able to learn from the coaches - like, something they harped on a lot was getting pucks back and winning puck battles,” Lee said of what he’s taking away from Camp this year. “Going back for the rest of the summer, that's something I'm going to work on a lot, because it's something that needs to grow in my game. And then also just being with all the guys, seeing them again, it's been awesome.”