If nothing else, the Nashville Predators have been getting some NHL debuts out of the way this season.
With no Stanley Cup playoffs to plan for — and only an 11.5% chance at earning the top pick in the 2025 NHL Draft — the Predators have been elevating recent draft picks and giving them their first NHL minutes. Most recently, defenseman Ryan Ufko, a 2021 fourth-round pick, made his NHL debut against the Utah Hockey Club on April 14 at Bridgestone Arena.
“It was definitely a dream come true,” Ufko said after the Predators’ 7-3 loss to Utah. “It was a bit faster. Obviously a win would have been great, but really grateful for it.”
Ufko, 21, played collegiate hockey at UMass, scoring 23 goals and 58 assists in 106 games before signing his three-year, entry-level contract with Nashville in 2024. He debuted in spring 2024 with the Milwaukee Admirals and in 80 AHL games has nine goals and 26 assists.
Against Utah, Ufko skated 15:37 minutes, registering one hit and two giveaways.
“I felt better as the game went on,” he said. “The first couple shifts, you feel the nerves and everything. Just try to play my game, be myself, and take it from there.”
Ufko is the seventh rookie to make his debut this season for the Predators, joining Zach L’Heureux, Fedor Svechkov, Adam Wilsby, Ozzy Wiesblatt, Joakim Kemell and Matthew Wood.
With Nashville dealing with a sudden illness to defenseman Andreas Englund, Ufko’s debut was a last-minute decision by the front office. Thankfully for Ufko, his family was still able to attend the game.
“I got the call this morning. Lucky enough, my family was in Milwaukee with me,” he said. “Once I found out, I called them, and they got in the car and drove down here and made it. Pretty grateful to be here and grateful they were able to make it.”
Ufko then described the emotions he felt, seeing his family during warmups, knowing how important they were in getting him to this point.
“Thinking about it . . . I’m the one who is lucky enough to get to play, but it’s all their hard work they put into it since I was younger. I’m really grateful for that,” Ufko said.
Another advantage he has is playing with former Milwaukee Admirals teammate Marc Del Gaizo. They were paired together for much of their time in Milwaukee — naturally, the coaching staff put them together against Utah.
Though the Predators fought back in the second period to get within one, Utah scored three goals in the third period to seal the win. Nashville (29-44-8, 66 points) has one game remaining, hosting the Dallas Stars on April 16 (7 p.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network).
“Unfortunate that we lost,” Ufko said. “I could be a lot better and I’m sure everyone in here could say the same thing. The pace of play was a bit faster, so to try to continue at that pace, that would be good for me.”
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex atjdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
