Preds draft local prospect Blake Geoffrion

Photo by Harry How/Getty Brentwood resident Blake Geoffrion was Nashville's first selection at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft

"Words can't express how good I feel right now about going to Nashville," prospect Blake Geoffrion said Saturday after being selected by the Predators in the second round of the National Hockey League's 2006 Entry Draft. The 18-year-old Brentwood resident--who bears one of hockey's most famous names thanks to the Hall of Fame career of his grandfather Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion--grew up playing in the Nashville Youth Hockey League and is now on a path to play professional hockey just a short commute from his boyhood rink.

Earlier in the week, Predators general manager David Poile expressed interest in Geoffrion during a press conference but wasn't sure the 6-1, 190-pounder would still be available when Nashville's first pick--No. 56 in Round 2--came around. "We'd be very happy if all the stars aligned in terms of him being available when we hit one of our draft choices," Poile said before leaving for Vancouver, the site of this year's draft.

Ranked 33rd among available North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Service, Geoffrion was projected to be selected in the second round. "When the first round started to get going, it was just a little nerve-wracking," he said. "As the picks went further and further out into the second round, I got a little more anxious, a little more excited, a little more nervous.

"I had my fingers crossed a little bit after Montreal had two picks in the second round and they didn't take me," said Geoffrion, whose father, grandfather and great-grandfather all played for Montreal. "There were two teams before Nashville picked again, so I had my fingers crossed hoping I'd go to Nashville.

"I ended up with the team I wanted to be with, and I can't wait to get started."