Predators Draft Tommy Bleyl 31st Overall – The Hockey Writers – Nashville Predators

With the 31st pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, the Nashville Predators have selected Tommy Bleyl from the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

About Tommy Bleyl

Tommy Bleyl entered the 2026 NHL Entry Draft as one of the most productive and most debated defensemen in the class. The Moncton Wildcats blueliner is an undersized, right-shot puck-mover whose game runs on elite skating and edgework, the kind of mobile transition defender modern NHL teams covet. He walks the offensive line, manipulates pressure with his feet, and runs a power play, even if the 5-foot-11, 165-pound frame invites questions about the defensive end.

In 2025-26, his first season in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), Bleyl set a league record for points by a rookie defenseman with 81 (13 goals, 68 assists) in 63 games, breaking a mark that had stood since 1977-78. He won both QMJHL Defenceman of the Year and Rookie of the Year. He carried that into the playoffs with six goals and 28 points in 21 games, third in postseason scoring, as Moncton reached the QMJHL Final before falling to Chicoutimi.

Bleyl is a New York native who took a prep-school route before the QMJHL, and he has committed to Michigan State for 2027-28, so his NHL timeline runs through college. NHL Central Scouting ranked him 17th among North American skaters, while public boards range from the back half of the first round into the second, a spread that reflects how evaluators weigh his skating and offense against his size. The upside comparisons that get floated, fairly or not, are undersized, mobile defensemen like Lane Hutson and Quinn Hughes.

THW Prospect Profile Excerpt

The first thing you notice about Bleyl is his lateral agility. He doesn’t just skate; he glides with a purpose that makes him incredibly difficult to pin down in the offensive zone. He possesses a “walking the line” capability that is already at a professional level, using subtle head fakes and edge work to open up lanes that simply didn’t exist a second prior.

His vision is his greatest asset. Bleyl is a pass-first defender who can feather a puck through three layers of traffic to find a teammate’s tape. This season in Moncton, he led all league defensemen in scoring, largely by serving as the primary engine for one of the most efficient power plays in the country.

Defensively, Bleyl relies on a quick stick and superior positioning rather than physical force. He’s effective at breaking up plays before they develop by closing gaps early, but he can still be bullied in the dirty areas. If he gets pinned in a cycle against a heavy forecheck, his lack of pure strength becomes apparent.

Continue reading the full player profile here.

How This Affects the Predators’ Plans

Nashville liked Bleyl enough to come back for him. After spending their own first-round pick at No. 10 earlier in the round, the Predators sent two second-rounders, Nos. 42 and 57, to Carolina to move up to No. 31 and take him. He fits where the back end is trending: a mobile, offensively skilled puck-mover who drives transition and runs a power play, even if his slender frame and defensive reads need time. New general manager Chris MacFarland, running his first draft after arriving from the Colorado Avalanche, is steering a retool following a second straight season out of the playoffs. Bleyl is committed to Michigan State for 2027-28 and returns to Moncton first, so he is a long-term bet whose NHL debut is likely a few years off.