For any young hockey player, pulling on the jersey of a NHL club is often a dream come true. When a player does so with a Nashville Predators sweater for the first time, there's a decent chance it won't be the only instance.
Since the franchise made their first-ever NHL Entry Draft selection in 1998, 52 of Nashville's 160 draft picks have broken into the League wearing a Predators jersey. Another 10 have done so with a different NHL club. Considering the number of roster spots available at the start of any given season, that's not a bad ratio.
Many of the Predators top players, who also happen to be some of the best in the NHL, are original draft picks of the team. Names like Shea Weber, who was drafted in 2003 and now captains the group, or defenseman Roman Josi (class of 2008), who has developed into one of the premier blueliners in the League. Then there's goaltender Pekka Rinne (2004 draftee), a perennial Vezina Trophy candidate and one of the top netminders in the world.
But they weren't superstars when their name was called on the draft floor or when they signed their first deal with the Predators. It took time, and the Preds organization prides itself on drafting and developing hockey players into not only elite sportsmen on the ice, but also into exemplary humans off of it.
"It's about treating people right," Predators Director of Player Development Scott Nichol said. "If you look at all the superstars in the League, you look at the superstars on our team with Josi, Weber and Pekka, they could be the nicest humans out there. They're very respectful, and that's what we want to teach to our players."
No matter if it takes five months or five years, the Predators take the time to get it right with their players.
One such subject is centerman Colton Sissons. Drafted by the Preds 50th overall in 2012, Sissons spent 17 games in Nashville during the 2013-14 season before skating all 76 games with the club's AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, in 2014-15, honing his skills and fine-tuning his game into a style that can translate seamlessly to Nashville when he gets the call.
"[Admirals Head Coach] Dean Evason and [Assistant Coach] Stan Drulia do a great job of breeding NHL players in the minors in Milwaukee," Sissons said. "We study the systems we have up here so we can integrate pretty easily when we come up here and we can just come out and play. We don't have to worry about the systems too much, and that's a huge part of my game, personally, when I can just go out and play. They do a great job of that."
Sissons has already seen 19 games of action at the NHL level this season, and there figures to be more to come in due time. The North Vancouver, B.C., native says that it's not only the on-ice systems, but the teachings away from the rink that have helped him advance to the next level.
"They always preach to us down there to be a true professional and how you conduct yourself off the ice is just as important as on the ice," Sissons said. "That's a message that gets overlooked quite a bit in the game, and I think that's one thing that that's helped me be a good pro and be able to come to Nashville and have some success."
