Blair Atcheynum: 1999 (Top Left), Bill Houlder: 2000 – 2003 (Top Middle), Jamie Allison: 2004 – 2006 (Top Right), Martin Gélinas: 2008 (Bottom Left), Brian McGrattan: 2012 – 2013 (Bottom Middle) Zach Boychuk: 2013 (Bottom Right), Trevor Smith: 2017 (Top Left, 2nd Slide), Rocco Grimaldi: 2019 – 2022 (Right, 2nd Slide), Jake Livingstone: 2023 (Bottom Left, 2nd Slide).
Blair Atcheynum was drafted 52nd overall by the Hartford Whalers in 1989. He was selected in 2 separate expansion drafts, 1992 and 1998, and would play 53 games for Nashville, scoring 8 goals and 6 assists, before being traded back to the St. Louis Blues for a 6th round pick in 2000.
Bill Houlder was drafted 82nd overall by the Washington Capitals in 1985. By the time he reached Nashville, Houlder had already played for 6 teams and would play the bulk of his 846 game career as a Pred, playing 302 games while scoring 8 goals and 36 assists. He would retire as a Nashville Predator after 16 years in the NHL.
Jamie Allison was drafted 44th overall by the Calgary Flames in 1993. He would play 67 games for the Preds, tallying 4 assists.
Martin Gélinas was drafted 7th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 1988. Another player who was on 6 different teams before arriving in Nashville, Gélinas already had 18 years and 1,216 games of NHL experience and won a Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers in 1990. He would play the last 57 games of his career in Nashville, scoring 9 goals and 11 assists. Gélinas reached the Stanley Cup Finals with 4 separate teams: Edmonton Oilers in 1990, the 1994 finals with Vancouver, 2002 with Carolina, and with Calgary in 2004. He tied a record in the 2004 postseason when he scored 3 series-winning goals and earned the nickname "The Eliminator". Over his 19 years in the NHL, he played 1,273 games, scoring 309 goals and tallying 351 assists for a total of 660 points. He also has the distinction of being one of the players involved in the Wayne Gretzky trade in 1988.
Brian McGrattan was drafted 104th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 1999. He would only play 32 games on Nashville, tallying 2 assists. He is also one of the only players that Ryan Reaves feared and he said fighting McGrattan early in his career helped him realize that he could compete as an Enforcer.
Zach Boychuk was drafted 14th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2008. He would play just 5 games for the Preds, scoring a goal and assist.
Trevor Smith went undrafted and played 1 game for Nashville.
Rocco Grimaldi was drafted 33rd overall by the Florida Panthers in 2011. He played 166 games for the Preds, scoring 25 goals and tallying 32 assists. He holds the franchise record for the fastest hat-trick at 2 minutes and 34 seconds, scoring 3 goals in the 1st period on March 25th, 2021, against the Detroit Red Wings. He would add a 4th goal in the 3rd period, becoming the 2nd player in Nashville history to score 4 goals in a game after Eric Nystrom.
Jake Livingstone went undrafted and signed a one-year, entry-level contract on March 29th, 2023. He has played 5 games, tallying an assist, and is currently with the Milwaukee Admirals.
2 comments
My wife and I met Grimaldi when he was playing. Got to hang out at a charity event for a good while. Seemed like a genuinely good guy and really enjoyed meeting him. Hate that he’s gotten bounced around so much.
Loving the history on #23! Now that the rookie camp is over, I’m ready for training camp!