The Nashville Predators assigned five players to their respective junior teams earlier this week, bringing their training camp roster down to 58 players. While players were initially divided into three practice groups at the start of camp, the roster cuts saw the number of groups reduce to two. Group A consists of Nashville's presumed NHL starters, as well as some "fringe" players who may not make the Opening Night roster but are getting an extended look in camp as they figure to be call-up candidates in case of injury later in the season. Group B is comprised of players who are expected to be assigned to the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals, the ECHL's Atlanta Gladiators or their respective junior teams for the 2024-25 season. Some of the players without NHL experience joining the starters in Group A include forwards Ozzy Wiesblatt and Zachary L'Heureux and defenseman Adam Wilsby. They are expected to start the season in Milwaukee but could potentially make their NHL debuts at some point during the 2024-25 season. There are still two weeks to go until the Predators drop the puck against the Dallas Stars for their season opener at Bridgestone Arena, and plenty could change between now and then. In the meantime, however, here is a still-too-early prediction for Nashville's 2024-25 Opening Night roster based on what we've seen in training camp so far: Defenseman Marc Del Gaizo speaks to the media on day three of Nashville Predators training camp at Ford Ice Center Bellevue. FORWARD LINES Filip Forsberg - Ryan O'Reilly - Gustav Nyquist Steven Stamkos - Tommy Novak - Jonathan Marchessault Philip Tomasino - Colton Sissons - Luke Evangelista Cole Smith - Michael McCarron - Juuso Pärssinen DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS Brady Skjei - Roman Josi Jeremy Lauzon - Alexandre Carrier Marc Del Gaizo - Luke Schenn GOALTENDERS Juuse Saros Scott Wedgewood EXTRA/HEALTHY SCRATCHES Mark Jankowski (F) Dante Fabbro (D) Spencer Stastney (D)* POWER PLAY 1st Unit: Stamkos, Marchessault, Forsberg, O'Reilly, Josi 2nd Unit: Novak, Evangelista, Tomasino, Nyquist, Skjei PENALTY KILL 1st Unit: Lauzon, Carrier, Sissons, Smith 2nd Unit: Skjei, Schenn, McCarron, O'Reilly FIRST CALL-UPS (MILWAUKEE/AHL) In no particular order: Spencer Stastney (D)*, Adam Wilsby (D), Zachary L'Heureux (F), Ozzy Wiesblatt (F) *Defenseman Spencer Stastney has been absent from training camp for personal reasons, and his status for the start of the season remains unknown. Given that he is signed to a two-way contract for the 2024-25 season, it's likely that he will be assigned to Milwaukee whenever he does return since he has not been able to practice with the rest of the team at training camp.
