Predators Acquire #31 From Hurricanes, Select Tommy Bleyl

The Nashville Predators have landed one more pick in the 2026 first-round. They have acquired the 31st-overall pick from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for 42nd-overall and 57th-overall. Nashville used the pick to draft defenseman Tommy Bleyl from the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats.

Nashville will reel in one of the draft’s more alluring prospects with this move. Bleyl was a dominant puck-mover in the QMJHL this season. His skating was flashy and smooth – two words that could also describe his ability on the puck. Bleyl was shifty and hard to stop whether he was driving the puck downhill or creating chances from the offensive blue line. Bleyl also showed off a fearless and physical defensive game, though his thin frame forced him to work a bit harder against strong competition.

Bleyl grew from 5-foot-9 to 6-foot between the ages of 16 and 18. He has yet to fill out that frame – but still flaunts all of the skating talent that he possessed as a junior player – making his draft profile eerily similar to late-blooming winger Ryker Lee, who Nashville selected in the 2025 draft. Lee blossomed at Michigan State University this season, the same school that Bleyl is set to attend in the 2027-28 campaign, after pushing off his commitment by a year as to not compete with Chase Reid for the starring role. That will make Moncton a must-watch program for Predators fans, at least until the New York-native returns to the United States in 2027.