- The Predators reassigned 2025 first-round pick Brady Martin to AHL Milwaukee on Saturday
- A new rule let Nashville keep him in the pros instead of sending him back to junior
- Read below for what it means for the Predators’ crowded group down the middle
Brady Martin is heading to Milwaukee instead of Nashville.
The Predators reassigned their top prospect to the AHL Admirals on Saturday, confirming the 19-year-old won’t make the opening night roster. Goaltender Ethan Haider and defenseman Hunter Skinner got sent down in the same round of moves, per Pro Hockey Rumors.
Martin went fifth overall in the 2025 draft, Nashville’s highest pick since 2013, and signed his entry-level deal that August. Here’s the announcement:
He made Nashville’s roster out of training camp last fall, dressed for three games, then got shipped back to junior with the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds. Take a look at that move a year ago:
That trip won’t repeat itself this season. The NHL changed the rule over the summer, letting clubs keep a 19-year-old first-rounder from major junior in the AHL instead of returning him to his junior team. Nashville explained the shift when it happened, and Martin is the most prominent name it’s applied to so far.
His case for staying up wasn’t especially strong, either. A right shoulder injury limited him to 24 regular-season games with the Greyhounds, and his production slipped to a point-per-game pace after he put up 72 points in 57 games during his draft year. He managed one goal and a minus-2 rating across three preseason games with the Predators this fall.
Nashville’s center depth chart didn’t leave him much room to make his case. The Predators shifted fellow first-rounder Matthew Wood to the middle this camp, added Mavrik Bourque in a summer trade with Dallas, and still have veterans Ryan O’Reilly and Jack Drury holding down spots.
Two more decisions are tied up in what’s left. Tyson Jost is in camp on a professional tryout, and Vitali Pinchuk, the top international free agent from this summer’s class, would likely exercise an out clause and head back to Russia if he doesn’t crack the NHL lineup.
The Predators still have three more cuts to make before Monday’s 4 p.m. CT deadline, when the roster has to come down to 23. Martin gets a full season of pro reps in Milwaukee instead, and his path back to Nashville runs through how he handles it.
