The Nashville Predators ended Friday with a bang at the NHL Draft in Buffalo, drafting forward Wyatt Cullen (10th overall) and defenseman Thomas Bleyl (31st overall) in the first round.
MORE: Nashville Predators Select forward Wyatt Cullen With 10th Overall Pick In NHL Draft
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MORE: Nashville Predators Select Defensemen Tommy Bleyl After Acquiring Pick 31 From Hurricanes
After dealing off both of their second-round picks for Carolina’s 31st overall selection, the Predators had a slow start to Saturday, kicking off the day in the third round. However, they still had eight slots left to fill before the day was over
Here is every transaction the Predators made in rounds 3-7 of the NHL Draft.
Nashville opened the day selecting its first goalie of this year’s draft in Dmitri Borichev, a 6-foot-2, 188-pound goalie from Vologda, Russia, at 70th overall.
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He played this past season with Loko 76 Yaroslavl, Russia’s MHL junior league. In 24 games, Borichev posted a 12-8-3 record, with three shutouts. He had a .929 save percentage and a 2.25 goals against average.
Borichev was named the NHL Central Scouting’s top-ranked international goaltender for this year’s Draft.
Borichev is expected to return to the MHL next season.
The first active player that the Predators have acquired in this draft, Nashville sent center Massimo Rizzo and the 148th overall pick to the New Rangers for forward Adam Edstrom.
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He is a massive addition to the lineup, size-wise, with a 6-foot-7, 232-pound build. Edstrom played 35 games with the Rangers this season, recording five points off three goals and two assists.
Edstrom’s time in New York was marred by injuries as he missed the majority of last season with a fractured ankle. Upon his return in March, he was scratched for the final 11 games of the season.
He’s played in 97 NHL games from the 2023-24 season, recording 16 points off 10 goals and six assists.
Rizzo has not played a game in Nashville since his acquisition from the Boston Bruins in 2025 and has played 13 games with the Milwaukee Admirals, scoring 5 points.
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Nashville opened up the fourth round selecting Jakub Floris, a 6-foot-3, 183-pound right-shot defenseman from Bratislava, Slovakia, at 106th overall.
He played this past season with Lukko Jr. in Finland’s U-20 league. There, he recorded 18 points in 38 games, with 10 goals and eight assists.
Floris also played for Slovakia at the IIHF U-18 World Championship, scoring four points off two goals and two assists in seven games. He is expected to make the jump to Liiga, Finland’s top professional hockey league, this fall.
The second American selection by the Predators comes in the form of Justin Graf, a 6-foot-1, 174-pound left-shot center from Boston, Massachusetts, at 118th overall.
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In his first season in the USHL with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, Graf had 55 points in 52 games, with 23 goals and 32 assists.
He won a Gold Medal with Team USA at the U19 World Junior A Challenge, recording an assist in five games. Graf will be playing at Harvard University starting this fall.
Graf also has some NHL roots in his family as his brother is Colin Graf, a forward with the San Jose Sharks.
The third lefty shot of this draft, the Predators selected Philip Hemmyr, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound left-winger from Umeå, Sweden, with the 138th overall pick.
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He primarily played with Bjrokloven in Sweden’s second-tier professional league, scoring 12 points in 36 games, with six goals and six assists.
Hemmyr was promoted to the league after a dominant 27-game stretch in Sweden’s U-20 league, scoring 44 points off 19 goals and 25 assists.
He’s expected to stay with Bjrokloven this coming season, but play in the Swedish Hockey League, the country’s top league.
The Predators now have 10 picks in the 2028 NHL Draft, two in the fifth round.
Just two selections in this draft from the Canadian Hockey League as Benjamin Cossette-Ayotte comes in at 179th overall, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound right-shot defenseman from Trios-Rivières, Quebec.
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He spent this past season with the Val-D’Or Foreurs in the QMJHL, scoring 38 points, with 4 goals and 34 assists, in 62 games. It was his second season in the league and first as an assistant captain.
The Predators’ final pick of the 2026 NHL Draft came in Charlie Puglisi at 202nd overall, a 6-foot, 162-pound right-shot center from Latham, New York.
Unlike his counterparts, he did not play junior or professional hockey this year, but high school hockey in Massachusetts. Puglisi played at Winchendon School, scoring 76 points off 26 goals and 50 assists in 35 games.
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He also played in the Eastern Hockey Federation’s U-18 league with the Islanders Hockey Club Prep East, scoring 31 points (10 goals and 21 assists) in 25 games.
Puglisi will play with the Kitchener Rangers this coming season and is committed to Cornell University for the 2027-28 season.
1st Round, 10th overall: Wyatt Cullen, LW, NTDP-USHL
1st Round, 31st overall: Thomas Bleyl, D, Moncton-QMJHL
3rd Round, 70th overall: Dmitri Borichev, G, Loko 76 Yaroslavl-Russia Jr.
4th Round, 106th overall: Jakub Floris, D, Lukko Jr.-Finland Jr.
4th Round, 118th overall: Justin Graf, LW, Cedar Rapids-USHL
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5th Round, 138th overall: Philip Hemmyr, LW, Bjorkloven-HockeyAllsvenskan
6th Round, 179th overall: Benjamin Cossette-Ayotte, D, Val-D’Or-QMJHL
7th Round, 202nd overall: Charlie Puglisi, C, Winchendon School-HS-MA
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