The Nashville Predators and Columbus Blue Jackets will both begin their 2025-26 seasons with a Thursday night matchup in Nashville that will also mark the National Hockey League debut of Predators first-round pick Brady Martin.
There won’t be any baby steps for the 18-year-old center, whom the Predators selected with the fifth pick in June’s draft. At Wednesday’s practice, he was the front-line center, playing with Filip Forsberg, who led the team with 31 goals and 45 assists last season, and Ryan O’Reilly, whose 53 points (21 goals, 32 assists) last season were tied for third.
Martin told reporters Monday that it was a “pretty special” opportunity to play alongside two Predators veterans.
“I just take their tips and tricks and, yeah, I learn a lot from them,” he explained. “Playing with them is pretty easy. They just give me the puck.”
Predators coach Andrew Brunette said while the team will continue to evaluate Martin, the rookie earned the opportunity based on his preseason performance. He scored two goals and assisted another in four exhibition games.
“We obviously weren’t sure if we had a young player that we were really excited about,” the coach told reporters on Monday. “And he came in, and it was tough not having him on that line and not having him here today.”
The Predators will look to put a disappointing 2024-25 season behind them as quickly as possible. After making a splash on the free agent market with players like Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos hoping to put together a strong playoff run, the Predators lost their first five games, all in regulation, and finished seventh in the Central Division.
Last season was also surprising and eventful for the Blue Jackets. Chosen by many as one of the worst teams in the league, the 24-25 Blue Jackets remained in playoff contention until the penultimate day of the season. They did this despite the sudden and unexpected death of Johnny Gaudreau in an accident before the season.
This season, a Blue Jackets team that is one of the youngest in the league — their average age of 27.3 is tied for sixth youngest, according to PuckPedia.com — has its eye on the franchise’s first playoff appearance since the 2019-20 season.
Columbus coach Dean Evason told reporters Wednesday that he hopes the experience gained last season can translate into better success on the road. While they finished 40-33-9 (89 points), the Blue Jackets were 14-23-4 in road games.
Defenseman Zach Werenski is coming off a breakthrough season in which he led the team with career highs in assists (59) and points (82), en route to a runner-up finish for the Norris Trophy.
One position that has not yet been finalized is who Columbus’ starting goaltender will be. Elvis Merzlikins and Jet Greaves battled for the top spot in camp, but Evason didn’t reveal who would get the nod for the opener.
In Sunday’s final exhibition at Washington, Merzlikins stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced in a 2-1 loss. On September 30, when the Blue Jackets hosted the Capitals, Greaves made 19 saves in a 4-3 loss.
“You can’t look too far ahead, but we have three hockey games in five nights…(The goaltending rotation is) not set in stone,” Evason said.
–Field level media
