Grading Ozzy Wiesblatt’s NHL Debut with Nashville Predators

A long time in the making, rookie forward Ozzy Wiesblatt made his NHL debut for the Nashville Predators on Friday night, partaking in a 3-0 shutout win against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena.

Wiesblatt, 22, is the second-youngest of four hockey player brothers (Oasiz, Orca, and Ocean), born to two deaf parents. Wiesblatt’s mother, Kim White, worked multiple jobs to support her boys as a single mother and used sports as a way to help them socialize, interact, and stay active.

And, although all the brothers play hockey to this day, Ozzy is the first to reach the NHL, the pinnacle of hockey.

Drafted 31st overall by the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2020 draft, Wiesblatt spent most of last season with the San Jose Barracuda in the AHL before being loaned to the Predators’ AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.

After producing a goal, five assists, and six points in 16 games, the Predators organization was impressed with Wiesblatt enough to make a move to bring him in on a permanent basis.

So, on June 23, 2024, Wiesblatt joined the Predators in a trade that sent Egor Afanasyev to San Jose.

Less than 200 days later, Wiesblatt made his NHL debut, fulfilling a dream for a family that has been through so much together.

So, how did Ozzy do in his first action with the Predators?

Grading Ozzy Wiesblatt’s NHL debut

Truthfully, it was tough to get a read on Wiesblatt’s overall game in a contest where the Canucks held a 44-30 shot attempts advantage over the final 40 minutes. That being said, there were multiple moments when you could see the 22-year-old’s potential as an NHLer.

For instance, in the first period, Wiesblatt made a nice defensive play in the first period, sealing off a Canucks player on the left wall at his defensive blue line, winning puck possession back, and starting the Predators back in transition going the other way.

After that, the Calgary, Ab., native raced down the ice, supported the puck low near the net, and eventually ended up battling with the significantly larger Tyler Myers in front of the net for what seemed like hours until the Predators ceded possession.

Midway through the second period, Wiesblatt put the Predators on the power play, drawing a hook from Danton Heinen after doing the yeoman’s work by helping support his teammates in a puck battle.

The former first-round pick was also often deployed in low-leverage minutes, which limited his ability to do anything meaningful with the puck.

At 5-on-5, Wiesblatt played 7:54 with Michael McCarron, 7:34 with Colton Sissons, 4:36 with Brady Skjei, and 4:34 with Nick Blankenburg. Wiesblatt was out-attempted 1-8 with Skjei and Blankenburg on the ice, 3-11 with McCarron on the ice, and 3-13 with Sissons on the ice, per Natural Stat Trick.

Further to that point, the three Canucks forwards most commonly on the ice against Wiesblatt were Kiefer Sherwood, who leads the NHL in hits by a significant margin, Dakota Joshua, and J.T. Miller. On defense, Wiesblatt most commonly faced Tyler Myers, Guillaume Brisebois, Vincent Desharnais, and Derek Forbort.

At 5-foot-11, Wiesblatt is no match for any of those players physically, but he made the effort. After all, he was on a line with McCarron and Sissons. It’s not like he had much of a choice in this role.

In transition, Wiesblatt absorbed hits along the right neutral zone wall on his wing three times. Transition was Wiesblatt’s strength heading into the draft, too, so we can’t pass judgment there until he has more NHL seasoning and plays with more like-minded forwards to aid him.

Grade: C+

As noted above, the heavy Canucks were a tough first test for Wiesblatt at the NHL level, but the Predators rookie did well to hold his own.

The willingness to engage on the forecheck was there and having to play defense was not an issue. Creating offense is a work in progress, but it’s not like Wiesblatt was flanking Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Overall, an encouraging NHL and Predators debut for Wiesblatt, who showed some flashes and still has plenty of room to grow.

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