The NHL Draft begins Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville with the first round and the Chicago Blackhawks at No. 1 overall.
After Chicago presumably picks Connor Bedard at No. 1, the draft will begin in earnest with the unknown. Anaheim is at No. 2 overall and can pick one of the three centers in the next tier, between Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson and Will Smith, or top winger Matvei Michov.
The Nashville Predators currently own the No. 15 and no. 24 overall picks in the first round, but have enough draft capital to make some moves on Wednesday or Thursday.
The draft is considered to be, talent-wise, very deep, although that thought won’t be proven correct or incorrect until years down the line. Wednesday is about excitement for franchises’ futures.
Follow along with our live updates and pick tracker below:
PREDATORS IN THE FIRST ROUND: Here are 5 players the Nashville Predators could pick at No. 15 in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft
NHL Draft tracker 2023: Picks, trades and instant updates
1: Chicago Blackhawks |
2. Anaheim Ducks |
3. Columbus Blue Jackets |
4. San Jose Sharks |
5. Montreal Canadiens |
6. Arizona Coyotes |
7. Philadelphia Flyers |
8. Washington Capitals |
9. Detroit Red Wings |
10. St. Louis Blues |
11. Vancouver Canucks |
12. Arizona Coyotes (from Ottawa) |
13. Buffalo Sabres
14. Pittsburgh Penguins |
15. Nashville Predators |
16. Calgary Flames |
17. Detroit Red Wings (from NY Islanders via Vancouver) |
18. Winnipeg Jets |
19. Chicago Blackhawks (from Tampa Bay) |
20. Seattle Kraken |
21. Minnesota Wild |
22. Philadelphia Flyers (from Los Angeles via Columbus) |
23. New York Rangers |
24. Nashville Predators (from Edmonton) |
25. St. Louis Blues (from Toronto) |
26. San Jose Sharks (from New Jersey) |
27. Colorado Avalanche |
28. Toronto Maple Leafs (from Boston via Washington) |
29. St. Louis Blues (from Dallas via NY Rangers) |
30. Carolina Hurricanes |
31. Montreal Canadiens (from Florida) |
32. Vegas Golden Knights |
NHL Draft 2023 live updates
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NHL Draft 2023: First round picks, live instant updates, trades, tracker