The 2023 NHL draft takes place on June 28 and 29 as the first round goes down on Wednesday night in Nashville, Tennessee.
The NHL draft is something every team and fanbase looks forward to as they look to change the future of their franchise. Although some teams - like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs - have very minimal selections, some teams will have well above double-digit picks.
The team with the most selections is the host team of the Nashville Predators, who enter the draft with 13 selections.
Nashville Predators selections at the 2023 NHL draft
The Nashville Predators will be making their first selection of the 2023 NHL draft at 15th overall. They will also be selecting 24th overall which they acquired from the Edmonton Oilers at the trade deadline for dealing Mattias Ekholm.
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With Nashville hosting the draft and holding two first-round picks, GM Barry Trotz has said the plan is to get into the top four of the draft to get one of the top forwards available.
"Well, me and [outgoing general manager David Poile] both have been working the phones trying to do that," said arry Trotz, who takes over as Predators GM. "You have to have the right dance partner if you will. Obviously, everybody has been trying to get into that top four, and it's reasonable that all four of those teams will just stay put. It's a pretty good comfort level for them.
"I've been trying to make them uncomfortable, but at this point there haven't been any of those trades out there. But we've still got a few days here, so things could change. We've been trying. We've got lots of capital. We have to be smart about it as well.
"You have to use it effectively. You don't want to do one thing and then try to fix a bunch of holes if you go too far. I'd like to be happier, but we're actually pretty excited listening to the scouts right now."
If the Nashville Predators can get into the top four they can trade some of their 13 picks this week to improve their team.
The full picks of the Predators are as follows:
Nashville Predators 2023 NHL draft picks
- Round 1: 15th and 24th overall
- Round 2: 46th and 47th overall
- Round 3: 68th, 79th, and 83rd overall
- Round 4: 111th, 115th, and 121st overall
- Round 5: 143, and 147th overall
- Round 6: 175th overall
- Round 7: None
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