Nashville Predators release opening night roster, including Brady Martin, 3 other rookies
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The Nashville Predators have set their 23-man roster ahead of their home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 9 (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network).
The roster, which consists of 14 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders, features four rookies, including 2025 top pick Brady Martin, Joakim Kemell, Ozzy Wiesblatt, and Adam Wilsby.
The Predators began training camp on Sept. 17 with nearly 60 players vying for roster spots. Now the final 23 have been named as Nashville embarks on the new season.
Barry Trotz is entering his third season as Predators general manager, bringing along coach Andrew Brunette for his third season. Trotz has assembled an interesting mix of veterans and rookies, looking to move on from last year's disastrous campaign which resulted in a 30-44-8 record and a seventh place finish in the Central Division.
Nashville Predators announce 2025-26 opening night lineup
The Predators' forward lineup is similar to last year, which may not be encouraging, as Nashville struggled to score goals last year. But a few newcomers, including Martin, Tyson Jost, and Erik Haula, may help jump start the offense.
Meanwhile, Nashville beefed up their defense in the summer, adding Nic Hague and Nick Perbix. Hague will begin the season on injured reserve, but should only be out a few weeks. Roman Josi, who says he is feeling great after his POTS diagnosis, is entering his ninth season as Nashville's captain.
- Forwards (14): Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Ryan O'Reilly, Michael Bunting, Erik Haula, Luke Evangelista (non-roster), Cole Smith, Brady Martin, Michael McCarron, Fedor Svechkov, Joakim Kemell, Tyson Jost, Ozzy Wiesblatt, Matthew Wood (injured reserve)
- Defense (7): Roman Josi, Brady Skjei, Nick Perbix, Adam Wilsby, Justin Barron, Spencer Stastney, Nick Blankenburg, Nic Hague (injured reserve)
- Goaltenders (2): Juuse Saros, Justus Annunen
Evangelista is listed as non-roster while awaiting immigration status, but is considered among the final 23 to make the team. Hague (upper-body) and Matthew Wood (lower-body) will both be on injured reserve to begin the season and do not count among the 23 players.
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Predators release opening night roster, which includes four rookies
