Nashville Predators sign first-round pick Tanner Molendyk to entry-level contract

Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz announced that the club has signed 2023 first-round pick Tanner Molendyk to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Molendyk was selected No. 24 overall by the Predators at the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville. He spent the 2022-23 season with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League (WHL), where he notched nine goals and 28 assists for 37 points in 67 games. Molendyk added three goals and five assists for eight points in 18 WHL Playoff games, helping lead his team to the Eastern Conference Final. He shared the lead for goals and finished second and tied for second in points and assists, respectively, among WHL defensemen.

The McBride, British Columbian defenseman, also was second on the Blades and 10th among WHL skaters in his position in plus-minus at +31, a career-high. On the international stage, Molendyk represented Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2022-23 and registered four points in five games, winning a gold medal alongside fellow Preds’ prospects Matthew Wood, Kalan Lind and Dylan MacKinnon.

Daily Faceoff’s own prospect expert Steven Ellis did not have Molendyk projected to go in the first round in his mock draft of the 2023 NHL Draft, “Molendyk sometimes feels like a fourth forward out there with how he moves the puck and generates chances. But the offense didn’t seem to follow like most expected, bumping him down a few pegs. It feels like he’ll have a breakout next year, but I just wanted to see more this time around.”