Having already been absent due to noted injuries, the Nashville Predators have confirmed the fate of two. As confirmed by Brooks Bratten, Nashville’s beat reporter, Nic Hague is expected to miss 2-3 weeks due to an upper-body injury, while Matthew Wood is week-to-week.
Hague was hardly able to debut with the Predators, going down early in the team’s preseason opener against Florida on September 21st. Having been acquired in the offseason from Vegas and promptly signed to a four-year deal worth $5.5MM per season, Hague’s absence solidified two smooth puck-moving defenders on the team, Nick Blankenburg and Spencer Stastney. Nashville already has a glut of left-handed defenders, and while they will miss Hague’s size, there are plenty of names to fill the void. It had been thought he could be out longer, so perhaps there is some relief for GM Barry Trotz, who made an effort to overhaul his defensive core and add more size this summer.
Nashville’s top defense prospect, the electric Tanner Molendyk, made a strong case to make the team, but was sent down yesterday and will begin his pro career with AHL Milwaukee.
Meanwhile, Wood suffered a lower-body injury in the Preds’ Gold Star Showcase scrimmage. It was especially unfortunate, as the top prospect was rolling in camp and making a strong case to remain with the club, having bypassed the AHL last season after coming out of college on a six-game NHL audition.
With Luke Evangelista finally signed today, two youngsters, Joakim Kemell and Ozzy Wiesblatt, seem to have made the cut due to Wood’s ailment. Kemell, a right-handed sniper, plays a role relatively similar to Wood with real top-six potential, while Wiesblatt, despite being a former first-round pick (2020, San Jose), projects as a likely bottom-six energy forward.