NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The new-look Predators hit the ice for the first time Thursday as they opened training camp at Ford Ice Center Bellevue ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Watch: New-look Predators open training camp with roster spots up for grabs
1:48Fifty-five players, including several new faces, are all trying to make a good impression on new general manager Chris MacFarland and the hockey personnel staff as the Preds look to build a team ready to compete in the always difficult Central Division.
“There’s kind of a newfound energy and excitement,” Predators forward Steven Stamkos said after practice Thursday. “You kind of forget about what’s happened in the past and just focus on right now and getting off to a really good start in camp, the preseason and then the regular season.”
MacFarland added nine players with significant NHL experience to the roster during his first summer in Nashville via trades or free agency. Besides the boost in experience, the Preds are also trying to increase the speed throughout the roster as they mesh a veteran core with new pieces.
“Training camp is going to be really, really important,” MacFarland said. “There’s some good veteran players and there’s some good young players that are just scratching the surface and then we kind of added just good, honest hockey players. You’re just always curious to see how the coaches mix and match the parts together.”
The Predators also have several young prospects with little to no NHL experience in the full team camp. Guys like Brady Martin and Ryan Ufko got tastes of the highest level a year ago while guys like Aidan Fink and the Wiesblatt brothers will be trying to make their way onto an opening day roster.
MacFarland wants everyone in camp to know they will be judged every day and that there are probably four or five spots up for grabs.
“There are spots open,” MacFarland said. “We’re on record, we want to get faster. We got to get faster.”
And the roster needs to be constructed fast. The expanded 84-game NHL schedule means the regular season opens two weeks from Thursday after a preseason that’s been cut from six games down to four.
The Predators will be looking to get off to a good start after slow starts the past two seasons have doomed their playoff hopes.
“We probably had almost our full team together the last, I don’t know, two to three weeks skating together in Nashville, which was really good for us,” Predators captain Roman Josi said. “Now in camp the coaches are putting an emphasis on the start, on getting the system right, on getting everything right. I think just having that awareness of the start is going to be big for us.”
The Preds will continue camp with a practice in Bellevue again on Friday ahead of their Gold Star Showcase at F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville at 2 p.m. Saturday. They will officially open the preseason Sunday against the Lightning in Tampa Bay.