NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The 2023 NHL Draft is coming to Smashville. The National Hockey League made the announcement Thursday afternoon. On a street known for music, the Nashville Predators are singing their own praises.
"They can put this in any one of 32 NHL cities, they choose to do Nashville," said David Kells, executive vice president of Entertainment and Venues for the Nashville Predators.
Music City will also host the 2023 NHL Awards marking the first time the same city has hosted both events since Vancouver in 2006.
"This is one of the crown jewel events of the NHL," said Kells. "It’s the elite of the elite, the next generation of NHL stars are being picked by their team."
Nashville has hosted the NHL Draft before, nearly 20 years ago. It's safe to say the city and the event itself have changed a lot since then.
Back in 2003, the Preds were still new to town, in a town still new to hockey.
"We’re just learning," said one couple with a chuckle, in a 2003 piece we found in the NewsChannel 5 archive. "I don’t know a lot about hockey," admitted another fan back in 2003.
That was something longtime Predators broadcaster Pete Weber saw firsthand.
"It was a huge moment — it was the first time really the league, media-wise, had converged on the city," said Weber, who has been the radio play-by-play since the team was founded in 1998.
In fact, ESPN didn't even send their own live crew to cover the draft. They took it from the Canadian sports channel TSN.
"They would take that feed and put it out on cable here in the U.S," explained Weber.
It's a totally different world now, where hockey know-it-alls and newbies come for what can become a spectacle.
"And then there’s always the excitement of what deals are being done, what trades are happening behind the scenes? Who’s going to make a blockbuster deal at the last moment and you get to be there live for it," said Kells.
Kells couldn't tell us what specific spaces will be used downtown other than Bridgestone Arena, but hinted, the footprint will be much bigger than the 2003 event.
"We know we’re going to do something wonderful inside Bridgestone Arena, and outside Bridgestone Arena so as many fans can be a part of it and can celebrate the great game of hockey," he said.
What we do know is this — on this street known for music — the Predators are hoping for another big hit.
"It’s a blank slate right now, it’s great," said Kells. "The way we can do things is different than anyone else in the country."
The NHL Awards ceremony will be held June 26, and the NHL Draft will be a two-night event on June 28 and 29. Ticket plans and other details will be announced at a later date.
