- Ozzy and Oasiz Wiesblatt dropped the gloves with each other in the second period of Nashville’s intrasquad scrimmage Saturday
- The brothers were split onto opposite benches for the fourth annual Gold Star Showcase in Clarksville
- Read below for the video, the final result and the reason this one lands a little differently
Ozzy and Oasiz Wiesblatt spent Saturday afternoon trying to punch each other in front of a Clarksville crowd.
The Predators split the brothers onto opposite sides for their annual intrasquad game at F&M Bank Arena, and the two tangled up and started throwing midway through the second period. Ozzy wore gold. Oasiz wore white. Neither one looked especially interested in going easy on the other.
Alex Daugherty, who covers the Predators, posted the clip off the broadcast. Watch the brothers go at it:
This was not a heavyweight bout. It was a short, messy scrap that ended with Oasiz popping up and skating off looking irritated, and Ozzy getting walked away by an official with his helmet gone.
Both of them have a reason to be scrapping for eyeballs right now. Ozzy, the 31st pick in the 2020 draft, has 45 NHL games across the last two seasons with a goal and five assists. His younger brother is still chasing a debut after 13 goals and 18 assists in the AHL with Milwaukee last season.
Team White took the afternoon. Reid Schaefer scored in the first off an Aiden Fink feed, Kyle Marino answered for Team Gold in the final frame, and Joey Willis buried the shootout winner before Matt Murray stopped Daniel Nieminen to end it. Oasiz got the bragging rights home.
Saturday’s game doubles as a charity day. Now in its fourth year, the Gold Star Showcase benefits the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, and Gold Star families, Fort Campbell service members and VetTix ticket holders fill the building.
Defenseman Ryan Ufko handled a ceremonial puck drop with one of those families.
Ufko was asked what the day means to the group, per the team’s game recap:
“It’s very special. I don’t think there’s enough that you can do to give back, especially to [military families]. Every year, we all look forward to it. We try to compete as hard as we can, make it a real game and give them a show.”
Nashville has four preseason games to sort the roster out, two against Tampa Bay and two against Carolina, before the home opener versus Minnesota on Oct. 1.
There is some weight under all of this. The Wiesblatts lost their older brother Orca, 25, in a crash last September. They left camp and came back days later to play in that year’s Gold Star game. Twelve months on, they are in the same building on opposite benches, swinging at each other. Brothers.
