Draft Picks Ecstatic, Honored to Be Selected by Predators Organization

Two days, seven rounds and seven selections later, the Predators ended up with three Lukes, a Gunnarwolfe and a very bright future.
Nashville added three forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender to the organization over the course of the 2020 NHL Draft on Tuesday evening and throughout the day on Wednesday, an impressive continuation of "restocking of the cupboard" and the club's prospect depth.
"We definitely addressed our needs through this draft, mainly by getting a young goalie in Iaroslav Askarov who going into the future brings a lot of promise to our organization," Predators Chief Amateur Scout Tom Nolan said. "Other than that, we really needed to fill a lot of holes, so we picked up some forwards and two right-handed defensemen, which was an area in our depth chart we needed to address. In all areas of the game - from skill, character, speed and size - we hit every aspect and we're happy that we did. We are happy with how the draft went."

Askarov became the first pick for the Preds in the 2020 draft when they chose him with the 11th overall pick on Tuesday evening.
Nashville's first selection of Day Two came in the second round at pick No. 42 overall, and it was Luke Evangelista who heard his name called.
The 18-year-old forward skates for the London Knights of the OHL, and after posting just a pair of assists two seasons ago, Evangelista rebounded to record 23 goals and 61 points in 62 games in 2019-20. A native of Oakville, Ontario - and second cousins with Hockey Hall of Famer Brendan Shanahan - Evangelista couldn't hide his smile upon hearing the news of his selection.

"Getting drafted in the NHL is a dream come true, but to be drafted to an organization like Nashville, it's a great feeling and a great day for me and my family," Evangelista said.
NHL Central Scouting lists Evangelista's current player comparable as Islanders forward Jordan Eberle, and the Predators certainly see plenty of potential in their new skilled winger.
"The thing that excites us about him is he's got excellent upside," Predators Amateur Scout Matt Paton said. "He's a good offensive player, plays hard, good two-way guy and he does all the little things right… He has very good, underrated, elite, offensive upside, and I think his hockey sense is off the charts. Luke is going to get a little bit bigger and stronger, and I think he's going to be a very good player for us."
The Predators elected to take a defenseman for the first time in the 2020 draft with their third-round selection, a 6-foot-4 blueliner by the name of Luke Prokop, who just happens to list his new organization as his favorite NHL team.
"It's an amazing feeling," Prokop said of being drafted. "Growing up and watching [former Preds Captain] Shea Weber over the years in Nashville being my favorite player, the Predators kind of grew to be my favorite team, and I love to watch them. I don't think I could explain in words how it feels going to my favorite team. It's something I'll remember for the rest of my life."
Prokop, who skates for the WHL's Calgary Hitmen, posted career highs in goals (4), assists (19) and points (23) in 59 games last season and says he likes to model his game after defensemen like Brandon Carlo of the Bruins and Justin Holl in Toronto.
"He certainly fills a role that we needed," Predators North American Amateur Scout Glen Sanders said. "We wanted some size, and we wanted a right-handed defenseman. He's very skilled and his agility for a 6-foot-4 guy is incredible. He's a very good athlete - not just a hockey player - but a great athlete. I think he plays really similar to (Boston Bruins defenseman) Brandon Carlo."
Round 4 brought about another defenseman, as the Predators selected Adam Wilsby with the 101st overall pick, which was acquired along with forward Luke Kunin from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for the 37th overall (Marat Khusnutdinov) and 70th overall (traded to Detroit; Detroit selected Eemil Viro) picks in the 2020 NHL Draft and forward Nick Bonino earlier in the day.
Wilsby, a 6-foot, 183-pound native of Stockholm, Sweden, is beginning his first full Swedish Hockey League campaign, having already played in four games for Skelleftea this season. He spent the majority of the 2019-20 season on loan with Sodertalje in Sweden's second division, where he posted 27 assists - the most by a junior player in the league - and 30 points in 41 games; he also made professional debut in the SHL with Skelleftea and played in 13 games for Skelleftea's junior side. Wilsby is a product of the Skelleftea youth hockey program, the same one that developed current Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson.

"It's just a surreal feeling [to be drafted]," Wilsby said. "I'm a mobile defenseman. I had a big growth spurt two years ago, so I gained some height and weight, and I think that that helped me very much."
"He has a very good overall game, and he certainly impressed me last season," Predators European Scout Lucas Bergman said. "Last year, he was on loan with Sodertalje and he just took off. He's an elite skater. He has the ability to close time and space with his skating and is a very good puck mover who likes to join the rush and create offense from the back end. He's a bit quiet on the offensive blueline, but he always gets the puck through."
After trading their fifth-round pick to Philadelphia for a pair of sevenths - more on that in a bit - Nashville moved onto the sixth round and selected their third and final Luke of the day, defenseman Luke Reid.
A defenseman from the USHL's Chicago Steel, Reid is a 6-foot, 190-pound blueliner, who posted consecutive 19-point campaigns and tied for the Steel lead in plus-minus in 2018-19 at +15. Reid is now entering his freshman season at the University of New Hampshire.
"His style of defense works in today's NHL," Predators North American Amateur Scout Dave Westby said. "He is a natural skater, makes good puck decisions and makes good first passes to get the puck out of the zone. He's active, involved and can jump into the play. His coaches at New Hampshire have talked to us and they expect him to come in and be an impactful player as a freshman, while also getting opportunities on the power play and penalty kill."
The Preds then closed out the 2020 NHL Draft with two picks in the seventh round, taking forwards Gunnarwolfe Fontaine at No. 202 overall and Chase McLane at No. 209 overall. Both choices were acquired from the Flyers in exchange for the No. 135 overall pick (Elliot Desnoyers).

Fontaine, who says there is no family history in regard to his first name, says his mother originally wanted to call him "Wolf," before eventually deciding on Gunnarwolfe. The East Greenwich, Rhode Island, native also revealed while growing up, his mother told him to "be a rat" on the ice, and he's kept his side of the bargain.
Fontaine, who is entering his freshman year at Predators General Manager David Poile's alma mater of Northeastern, says he likes to model his game after Bruins forward Brad Marchand, widely regarded as possessing the best combination of skill and snarl in the NHL.
"He's a dynamic player with the puck and can really shoot," Nolan said. "He has a release we haven't seen too often, and he can score from all areas of the ice. He's got a little rat in his game, and I think that's going to come out even more when he gets bigger and stronger. We're excited to add him to our group."
Nashville's final pick of the 2020 draft, McLane will be a freshman at Penn State University in 2020-21 after competing in three USHL seasons for the Tri-City Storm from 2017-20. McLane, who is 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, amassed 48 points (13g-35a) and 233 penalty minutes in 100 career USHL appearances with the Storm, including 16 points (5g-11a) in 18 games last season.

McLane says he likes to play similar to Washington power forward Tom Wilson, who plays physical while also possessing a scoring touch.
"He is a legit, strong centerman who does everything," Nolan said. "He's kind of a jack-of-all-trades - he can play on the penalty kill or power play, but the thing that we really liked about him was how hard he was. He brings character to the game, he can play a hard game, but he makes plays and we think that side of his game is going to get better as he keeps developing at Penn State."
How each and every player's career pans out remains to be seen, but with the 2020 draft finally having come and gone, they're all one step closer to realizing their ultimate dream of one day playing in the NHL.
Doing so in a place like Nashville would just make it that much sweeter.
"I've never been to Nashville, but I've heard nothing but good things," Evangelista said. "Watching games on TV, I can tell that the atmosphere there is just awesome. It really has become a great hockey city and a great city to play in. I'm really excited at the idea of playing for the Predators in the future."