Preds Influence Plentiful as Predators Cup Champion Crowned

The memories are almost 15 years old, but it's easy for Predators Senior Vice President of Ticket Sales, Premium Sales & Youth Hockey Nat Harden to think back and picture his son, Ty, stepping on the ice for the first time in Nashville through the

On Wednesday night at Ford Ice Center Bellevue, almost a decade and a half later, Ty and his Montgomery Bell Academy teammates became Tennessee state champions.
MBA defeated the Brentwood Bruins by a 4-3 final to capture the 2021 Predators Cup and conclude a high-school hockey season that won't soon be forgotten. Coached by former Preds forward J-P Dumont, MBA captured the title to avenge years of coming up short, all while navigating through the challenges of playing sports during a pandemic.
In the end, the Big Red persevered to finish the night with a showering of sticks and gloves discarded jubilantly, a feeling only champions know.

"I'm really happy for all the players that have been through a lot of disappointment the last few years," Dumont, who finished his first season as head coach of MBA with a championship, said. "I know it's a cliché, but sometimes you have to lose to see how bad you want to win. It was really nice on the bench seeing all the players being so happy."
"It was thrilling to see him win, but it also has some nostalgia," Harden said of his son. "It's his last game… and coming to the end and winning the state championship, it made it very special to be able to think back to all those times and then end it on such a good note. We're really thrilled about how it all played out, but a little sad that it's over."
In addition to involvement from Dumont and the Hardens, Sebastian Cigarran, whose father, Christopher, and grandfather, Thomas, are part of the Preds ownership group, also skates for the Big Red. As the elder Harden recalled as well, a number of players on both sides of Wednesday's championship game got their start in the Preds G.O.A.L! program too.
Combine those roots with Dumont's guidance behind the MBA bench and the influence on the game at all levels by Nashville's NHL club is clear.
"We're just fortunate to have J-P Dumont in our market," Harden said. "He's got a ton of hockey knowledge, and all of that's great, but what's even more important is he has a passion for the kids and he has a passion for teaching them. He's a great influence on the kids, he sets a great example for them and we're just thrilled that he's in the market and he's just got a passion for passing on all the knowledge that he's gained throughout his playing career to everyone's kids here in Nashville."
"I really enjoy coaching," Dumont, who got his start behind the bench with youth hockey in the Jr. Predators program in Nashville. "It's another way for me to give back to the community and all the boys and girls who want to play. I'm really fortunate that I'm able to give my hockey passion and my knowledge to younger hockey players. I want to make sure they fall in love with the game like I did."

Each of Dumont's players certainly had a dream come true on Wednesday night, although they may not have realized quite as soon as the bench boss did.
After falling down 2-0 in the game's first three minutes, MBA roared back to score four straight. Brentwood cut the Big Red lead to 4-3, but Dumont's group held on, and eventually, everyone joined in on the celebration.
"Will Morrison blocked a shot and lobbed the puck in the neutral zone, and there was still five seconds left, but I knew it was done because they didn't have time to come back into the zone," Dumont explained. "But the boys on the bench still had no idea, they were just still looking at the clock and they were worried Brentwood was going to get one last chance, and I was celebrating on the bench. I'm looking like, 'Man, I'm the only one celebrating, like guys, we won, the puck is out.' But it was really fun for me to see the passion of the boys and to get the win."
For Ty Harden and a number of his teammates, Wednesday marked the final competitive contest they'll ever play as youths in the city of Nashville. It's a bittersweet reality for the parents who have experienced the highs and lows alongside their children, but now, the time has come to pass the stick to the next generation who are signing up for the G.O.A.L! program.
As a father, Harden knew this day would come, but he's also proud to play a role in allowing hockey to thrive in a region that barely knew the sport a quarter century ago.
And who knows - perhaps a future Predators Cup Champion will go on to win another Cup one day.
"There's a lot of pride in my role with the Predators and to grow youth hockey within the community," Harden said. "Having a son participate in it and just seeing his passion for it, and seeing other kids' passion for it makes me proud from the aspect of maybe we're doing something right as an organization, and things are growing and headed in the right direction. There's a lot of pride personally, but also professionally from the aspect that the game is growing, and people are watching and they care about it. There's a lot of pride for sure."