At this time next week, Brady Martin could be back home in Ontario for another OHL season.
Matthew Wood might be settling into life in Milwaukee, preparing to play his first game for the Admirals.
Joakim Kemell and Tanner Molendyk could be settling down in Wisconsin as well, their time in Tennessee having come to an end for the time being.
Or, their plans could be drastically different.
All four skaters - arguably Nashville’s top four prospects in the system - remain in Predators Training Camp following a number of roster cuts earlier in the week. Only 28 players are still on the roster, and that total must be down to 23 by Monday as the League mandates ahead of the start of the 2025-26 campaign, which begins next Tuesday with six teams in action.
So, the Predators management and coaching staff could deem the hopefuls are not quite ready. However, they might just be readying for one final sleep before Opening Night at Bridgestone Arena.
“Well, they deserve to be here,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said Wednesday of Nashville’s top young talent. “They’ve all had really good camps. They've all shown really well. We're excited about our youth. It's fun to watch them grow a little bit each and every day. It's fun working with them. They're so hungry to get better. So, they've deserved the right to have a really good chance at making the hockey team.”
In the case of Martin, Nashville’s first pick (5th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft, still being in camp at this stage isn’t necessarily surprising, but it’s also impressive for an 18-year-old who is just a few months removed from playing with a bunch of other teenagers on his junior team.
On Wednesday, he once again skated alongside Preds veterans Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly, a pair of players who have just about as much NHL experience as anyone else in the League.
“It's pretty cool to still be here and be skating with those guys,” Martin said after he and O’Reilly were the last two off the ice following Wednesday’s practice. “I’m just taking it day by day, and just trying to stick around for the beginning of the season and see how it goes from there.”
Martin isn’t just here for optics, either. Of the Top 10 picks in last June’s Draft, Martin is one of just four of those players still in camp with his NHL club. He’s still on the roster because of the skillset and maturity he’s shown for someone who was only two years old when O’Reilly was drafted by Colorado in 2009.
Combine Martin’s ability with players like Wood, Kemell and Molendyk, and it’s easy to get excited for what the future holds, no matter the role on the team.
“[The future is] definitely bright,” O’Reilly said. “You see these young guys out there, the pace and the skill that they have, and it's fun to watch, and credit to them. They've worked hard and are still working hard, and I’m excited to see how it plays out, but definitely a bright, bright future.”
Now 34, O’Reilly can’t help but smile and shake his head when he looks across the locker room - or on his wing - and sees someone almost half his age, but he’s loving everything that comes with an infusion of youth.
“It’s hilarious when you see them and see the ages, and it does make you feel old,” O’Reilly laughed. “But it takes you back to - I know from my first training camp, you come in and just every day is like Christmas. You can't believe you're just a part of an NHL team that's still here, and you’re just a sponge just absorbing everything. So, it's cool to see these guys, and especially like guys like Brady, just kind of being here and being around it. I don’t think I've seen him not smile the entire time he's been here. It’s very infectious, and it’s fun to be around.”
For Martin, the chance to learn from players like O’Reilly and Forsberg is invaluable, and as his linemate alluded to, the rookie is soaking up as much as he possibly can.
“Just being on the ice with them and watching them every day, it helps,” Martin said. “I think just doing faceoffs with a couple of the older guys is a big thing at the next level that you need to work on. So, I've been working on that and getting just different techniques and different ways to win faceoffs and shooting and stuff. It’s been a lot of fun.
“Not a lot of people get to [be in an NHL training camp], so it's an honor to be here. It’s just learning to be professional and just hanging out with those guys. They teach you a lot of things, [even like] just how to act in public…and how you are as a human being.”
While Wood’s potential status for Opening Night is uncertain for a different reason - he’s week-to-week with a lower-body injury - other prospects simply have no idea what their life will look like a few days from now.
To use a football analogy, Nashville’s young hopefuls are in the red zone. They’ve put in the work to get here, but now that the pressure has ramped up, can they punch it in? Or will they need to reset?
At this time next week, the future could be fine tuning their skills in preparation for that call from Nashville sometime soon.
Or, perhaps the future has already arrived.
Either way, everyone in the Preds organization can’t wait to find out.
“[I’m having] a lot of fun,” Martin said. “I mean, I'm enjoying every moment I'm here. Hoping to stay for a while, and we'll see what happens, but it’s been a lot of fun.”
