Nashville's 2026 Draft Class: Video Breakdown — Part I

Tommy Bleyl

At the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, the Nashville Predators welcomed eight new prospects into the organization. Below, I take a look at four of those players and their strengths, weaknesses, and potential.

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Wyatt Cullen (F) | U.S. National Team Development Program (USHL) | 10th overall

One of Nashville’s two first-round selections, Wyatt Cullen joins a pipeline desperate for offensive gamebreakers. While some may have a bitter taste over not securing a top-five pick, Cullen is a swing-for-the-fences selection smart teams look for after the top tier of prospects.

The son of former Pred Matt Cullen, Wyatt is still just 17 years old as he heads off to the University of Minnesota this fall. His draft year was spent with the U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP), where he posted 16 goals and 45 points in 40 games; at the U18 World Junior Championship (WJC), he added three goals and nine points in five games.

When you watch Cullen’s tape (#7, white), the first thing that stands out is his puck skills. He’s exceptionally confident with possession, tapping pucks between defenders’ skates, manipulating his stick around their frame to connect a pass, and maintaining a constant cradle while barreling forward with his head up. Cullen enters nearly every one-on-one situation thinking he can win; his stickhandling is so smooth you often have to rewatch to see how he executes certain plays. This asset makes Cullen a true top-six playmaker, injecting offensive firepower into any lineup.

Now, with that confidence, Cullen finds himself committing plenty of unforced errors. While he maintains excellent vision of his teammates’ positions, he can forgo a smart play for a highlight at times. He’ll naturally need to find some discipline there.

Despite the inconsistencies in his attack, when Cullen locates an open seam to the net, he exploits it without hesitation. If given any small window, he’s likely to bury the puck home.

Cullen’s skating is strong but not without its shortcomings. He plays with good pace and strong crossovers that help him provide great puck support (although I think he could increase his power per crossover ratio). But he’s still finding the right width for his base, and his accelerating gear could improve. Regardless, he times his bursts well and uses strong edgework to cut around defenders when driving through the offensive zone.

Aside from his touch, Cullen is a legitimate shooting threat. He plays off the puck so well, never lingering or waiting for the perfect moment to jump in, and keeps defenders working to guard him. Sure, he’ll pull off a nice deke in tight on a goalie, but he’ll also pick a corner from the top of the circle if you’re not careful.

Cullen’s defensive game is unremarkable but not a liability. He maintains that dynamism but can drift out of position at times. I’d like to see him be a little smarter on the forecheck, but he doesn’t stand out as untrustworthy. Big Ten hockey will be an excellent venue for him to build strength and improve his physicality, hopefully unlocking a bigger advantage in puck battles.

I expect Cullen to play at Minnesota for at least two, maybe three years. He projects as a top-six scoring winger and top power play threat, but the skating and skill are good enough to justify a middle-six, 20-goal floor.

Tommy Bleyl (D) | Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL) | 31st overall

Trading back up into the first round, Nashville took Tommy Bleyl with its second pick. The right-shot defender jumped from high school to the QMJHL in his draft year, scoring 13 goals and 81 points in 63 games for the Moncton Wildcats. Much like late first-rounders Tanner Molendyk and Cameron Reid, Bleyl is a smooth-skating, offensive-minded defender who plays a contemporary game.

The foundation of Bleyl’s (#16, white) game is his skating mechanics. He has amazing four-way agility, jumping into gaps, bursting around opponents, and covering off puck carriers with quickness and great timing. Bleyl can shut down a play at one end and catalyze one at the other in seconds with his anticipation and reads, besting even the most cerebral opponents.

Case in point above.

He approaches oncoming rushes well, using an active stick to disrupt opponents’ play and force them to the perimeter. When possession is up for grabs in the defensive zone, he leaps on the puck, draws in pressure, then makes a smart outlet play. And more often than not, he’ll join the rush he started as an extra forward and cash in at the other end.

In the offensive zone, Bleyl is dynamic, confidently providing puck support, walking the blue line, and connecting crisp passes to his teammates. He likes to shoot but is also fond of a head fake or nifty deke. His shot selection needs work—in strength, timing, and quickness, but NHL defenders will give him fewer options, hopefully forcing some discipline.

Bleyl’s positioning against zone entries is typically strong (again, the skating). His pivot timing is fine, and he can be strong on his stick. But his in-zone defense still needs development. Playing in one of the most porous junior leagues out there, I don’t put a ton of stock into his moments of success. You can tell at times he’s thinking about springing the zone before the defensive play is made, and quick teams can turn him around in the slot. Aside from preparing for stronger opponents, Bleyl will need to grow his off-puck positional discipline and develop strategies to box out bigger forwards as he progresses.

Before the draft, it was reported that Bleyl would return to Moncton for another season before heading to college. He’s since confirmed he’ll be going to Michigan State this fall, giving him a good runway to drill home better defensive habits against top competition. If that goes according to plan, Nashville could have a top-four offensive defender that can eat up power-play minutes.

Justin Graf (F) | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL) | 118th overall

In the fourth round, Nashville picked overage forward Justin Graf, hoping he hits as his brother Collin has. Similar to Bleyl, Graf jumped from prep hockey to juniors, scoring 23 goals and 55 points in 52 USHL games last season. He’s headed to Harvard this fall alongside Alex Huang.

Graf (#22, white) is certainly a longer-term project, but you can’t help but notice his positive fundamentals on tape. The winger understands his position well; he builds space off the puck, pressures on the forecheck, and gives his teammates good passing options. He knows when to push and pull to create opportunities, and his positioning allows him to jump on those—whether they be scoring chances or turnovers—often. His vision with the puck is strong, and it’s complemented by good playmaking and passing skills.

He’s not an overly in-your-face type player, but Graf won’t hesitate to run his relentless motor, crash the net, dig for loose pucks, and generally annoy opponents. It’s not always pretty, but he’s got the drive and soft touch to help offenses at higher levels.

Graf’s skating is a work in progress: he doesn’t have an explosive first step, lacks knee bend, and needs more power in his cuts; it’s the biggest thing holding him back from a long NHL career. While Nashville will be keen to work on those mechanics, his positioning and timing give him a leg up against current competition, allowing him to win races to open space against quicker opponents.

Given the hiccups with his skating, the Massachusetts native isn’t a natural play driver. While his motor is strong, his anticipation in the defensive zone and in transition don’t always meet his timing in the offensive zone. He found success this year by playing off teammates better at puck-carrying, and even with his skating improving, I suspect he’ll be a more complementary linemate at higher levels.

Graf is likely a three- or four-year college player. He likely maxes out as a decent AHL scorer, but if his path winds anything like his brother’s, he could be a good depth piece in the NHL.

Benjamin Cossette-Ayotte (D) | Val-d’Or Foreurs (QMJHL) | 179th overall

With their sixth-round pick in the draft, the Predators took home Québécois defender Benjamin Cossette-Ayotte. The 18-year-old, right-shot blueliner just finished his second season with the QMJHL’s Val-d’Or Foreurs, scoring four goals and 38 points in 62 games.

When I dove deeper into Cosette-Ayotte’s tape after the draft, I struggled to overcome what I had seen throughout the season: a fine hockey player who lacked NHL traits. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good defender. He reads the play in front of him well, keeps good positioning between opponents and the net, pivots fairly quickly, and drives puck carriers to the perimeter of his defensive zone. But none of those skills are noticeably above-average playing in the weakest of the three major junior leagues.

Cosette-Ayotte’s an okay skater who can recover fairly well if caught out of position. He’s strong on his stick and keeps his head on a swivel in his own end. At his best, he smothers opponents and uses a good mix of his stick and body to disrupt plays. He’s fairly dynamic when guarding his net, pushing out to the dots to pressure the cycle without losing sight of backdoor plays.

Regardless, he can still get mixed up against more complex attacks. While he doesn’t commit tons of defensive errors, he can drift out of position, floating behind his net when his partner and center are already there or focusing too much on clearing one player from the crease.

In transition, Cossette-Ayotte’s game is pretty standard. His puckhandling is fine; he makes a pretty good first pass, and he sometimes starts the rush but almost always dishes it off before center ice. While I appreciate the reliability, he’ll need to get more dynamic to play in the contemporary NHL.

Offensively, it’s much of the same; the second-overall pick in the 2024 QMJHL Draft spent plenty of time on both the power play and penalty kill this season. While on the power play, his attack didn’t grow much. He distributes from the point—often short, crisp passes—and plans for others to pull the trigger. When he does, his shot is fine, but the selection and timing need improvement.

While I appreciate a player who is solid across the board, Cossette-Ayotte is reminiscent of many a recent late-round pick from Nashville. Instead of pulling lottery tickets on market inefficiencies, they stay risk-averse on picks that statistically aren’t likely to make the NHL. There’s a path for Cossette-Ayotte to get there, but as what: a seventh defender, maybe? We’ll see if I’m surprised, but I don’t see much ceiling here.

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