Nashville Predators development camp came to an exciting end on Friday morning at Ford Ice Center Bellevue in the Future Stars Game. 

The next generation of Smashville talent got the opportunity to showcase what may be ahead, as well as give fans a little taste of hockey before a nearly three-month-long hiatus. 

It was a 2-1 result in favor of the Blue Team over the Gold Team.

Defenseman Alex Haung (2025, 122nd overall) opened the scoring in the first half for Blue. Haung also scored in the shootout at the end of the first half and so did Charlie Puglisi (2026, 202nd overall). 

Erik Pahlsson (2024, 213th overall) responded for Gold, scoring on Jack Ivankovic (2025, 58th overall) at the net mouth. 

Forward Wyatt Cullen (2026, 10th overall) scored the game-winning goal in the late first half for Blue, putting away a rebound from Ryker Lee (2025, 26th overall). 

Lee also had a goal in the second-half shootout along with Felix Nilsson (2023, 43rd overall), Hiroki Gojsic (2024, 94th overall) and Yegor Surin (2024, 22nd overall). 

Here are three things we saw in the 2026 edition of the Future Stars Game. 

The Predators coaching staff knew what the fans wanted and gave it to them in a line made up of Ryker Lee, Wyatt Cullen and Yegor Surin. 

In a low-scoring game, the trio did find a way on the board as Cullen weaved his way into the zone to find Lee on a centering feed into the slot. While Lee tried to get the goaltender to bite, his long-waited shot was saved.

However, Cullen was there to put away the rebound, which ended up being the go-ahead goal. 

"They're unbelievable players," Cullen said. "I kind of grew up watching Ryker Lee and a little bit and played against him. 
He's such a good player. It was super fun to play with them for sure." 

While Lee is known for his flashy style of play, he was pretty impressed with what the 17-year-old Cullen brought to the ice.

"I think anyone can play with that guy (Cullen)," Lee said. "He's so smart, so skilled and so super fun to play with.
He created a lot of space for me out there." 

For Surin, the 6-foot-2, 200 pound center didn't score in the two periods, but leveled two of his potential future teammates and scored a dazzling goal in the shootout against fellow countryman, Dmitry Borichev (2026, 70th overall). 

"It's fun playing with him (Surin). He's so strong, and he's a man among boys out there," Lee said. "It's pretty crazy the way he can get the puck for us. It's awesome." 

One player who came into camp with a lot of under-the-radar momentum was defenseman Alex Haung, who played this past season with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in the QMJHL. 

He had a 30-point jump from season to season, netting 70 points in 62 games, with a massive plus/minus of 58, and helping Chicoutimi win its first league title since 1994 and advance to the Memorial Cup for the first time since 1997. 

Coming into development camp, he wanted to showcase an offensive edge to his game. That was on full display on Friday, scoring the opening goal and one of the few goals in the shootout.

Haung was the only player to score in 5-on-5 play and in the shootout. He was in the starting lineup and played along side Cameron Ried, who he gave a lot of credit to in his own success. 

"I felt confident today from the (puck) drop," Huang said. "Reider (Reid) and I played in a similar way that we're both responsible defensively, but we're not afraid to jump in the rush and create space for our team. I feel that in general
I display what I could and I did my best to that." 

He's another player that will be making the jump from juniors to the NCAA this fall, playing at Harvard. 

This rendition of the Future Stars Game was very nice for the Predators seventh rounders.

Pahlsson scored and Puglisi had a shootout goal. In the bigger picture, Aiden Fink (2022, 218th overall) has a chance to compete for a roster spot come September. 

However, it was Ben Strinden that was one of the biggest surprises in the game. 

While he did not score, he generated a lot of offense and had a handful of quality looks at the net. As the oldest guy at the camp, Strinden showed that he's ready to make the move up to the pros. 

"I had a great time in North Dakota, but I'm ready for pros and the challenge that's gonna be," Strinden said.

The 6-foot-1 righty from Fargo showed out in his draft year with the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL), scoring 56 points in 61 games. Four years of growth at North Dakota proved to be worth it, tallying 35 points in 30 games.

He joined the Milwaukee Admirals at the end of the regular season, playing in three games. Moving up to become a full-time pro, Strinden could be a player to watch in the future. 

"There are so many good presentations and just knowledge all around from all the staff," Strinden said.  "It's important that we use those resources throughout our season and I think that's something that's a big takeaway for me."