​The Nashville Predators finished Friday with a burst of activity at the NHL Draft in Buffalo, selecting forward Wyatt Cullen with the 10th overall pick and defenseman Thomas Bleyl with the 31st overall pick in the first round. They later traded for the Hurricanes’ 31st overall pick, then held steady through Saturday, starting the day with rounds three through seven to complete their drafting slate.
In Round 3, with the 70th overall pick, Nashville took goaltender Dmitri Borichev, a 6-foot-2, 188-pound Russian netminder from Vologda who played for Loko 76 Yaroslavl in Russia’s MHL. In 24 games this season, Borichev went 12-8-3 with three shutouts, owning a .929 save percentage and a 2.25 goals-against average. He was named Central Scouting’s top international goaltender for this draft and is expected to return to the MHL next season. The Predators also pulled off a trade: center Massimo Rizzo and the 148th overall pick were sent to the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Adam Edstrom. Edstrom, a 6-foot-7, 232-pound forward, appeared in 35 games with the Rangers this season, recording five points (three goals, two assists) but dealing with injuries that limited his playing time. He has appeared in 97 NHL games since the 2023-24 season, totaling 16 points. Rizzo had not played for Nashville since his 2025 acquisition from the Bruins and had 13 games with the Milwaukee Admirals, averaging five points.
In Round 4, with the 106th overall pick, the Predators selected Jakub Floris, a 6-foot-3, 183-pound right-shot defenseman from Bratislava, Slovakia, who played for Lukko Jr. in Finland’s U-20 league. Floris joins Nashville’s growing pool of defensive prospects as they continued their picks into the later rounds. This recap captures the key moves and selections the Predators made during rounds 3 through 7 of this year’s NHL Draft.