After three straight years of watching their prospect cupboard blossoming and climbing the annual EP Rinkside prospect pool rankings, the Nashville Predators have taken a bit of a step back. Ranked as the 10th-best best pipeline a season ago, the Preds find themselves in the 15-hole in 2022.

A part of this can be easily explained. The organization graduated its second-best prospect in Philip Tomasino. On top of that, David Farrance (No. 4) and Jérémy Davies (No. 6) have both left the organization. The club managed to nab Joakim Kemell in the middle of the first round this past draft to help alleviate that. But the uncertainty around last year’s top prospect, Yaroslav Askarov likely mitigated any bump they might've gotten from that.

At the end of the day, the Predators are a playoff team with an eye toward contention for a Stanley Cup. They have a mid-range prospect pool to work with in order to supplement their window. Which is a pretty decent spot to be in.