After hoisting the FNHL Cup to end last season, it was apparent that the Predators had a wee bit of a hangover to open the season against a tough Montreal group. It certainly didn't help that they had to travel North of the border for the contest..  and sure enough, it ended up being a dirty 4-0 loss to the Habs. However, the team gathered up some energy for their 1st home game after the Cup victory and looked a helluva lot better against the Panthers. While it came out as a 3-3 tie when it was all said & done, it was good to see the team finally start making some plays again. 

Yesterday the Preds got their 1st win of the season with a 3-0 shutout against another tough group in the Edmonton Oilers. After 3 games, the team sits at 1-1-1 but when those first games of the season are against well-built squads like the Habs, Panthers, & Oilers..  it's all good. We got a word with GM Erickson regarding his thoughts about the upcoming campaign & some of the moves which were made over the offseason..

"...well Bob, we have a great core group here still and they're setup to play together both this season & the next. We regrettably said goodbye to Dana (Tyrell) due to salary cap reasons & we moved on from Miro Heiskanen after a semi-disappointing season from him, but yeah.. we added Sammy Bennett to center the 2nd line & moving Miro left room for others to step up as the 4th Dman. With Cowan, Fleury, & Rein-er (Reinhart) leading the way on the blueline, we believe we'll be A-ok. And yes, I keep getting asked about Nolan Patrick & yes..  he'll most likely find his way to the Pro team this season, whether that's with us or another FNHL club." -- GM Erickson

Possibly the biggest news of the offseason was the FNHL draft where the Predators made a few moves and came away with the 2nd & 7th overall picks. At #2 they took slick-skating Dman Luke Hughes who looks poised to join the Pro team next season..  and then at 7th they drafted goalie of the future, Jesper Wallestadt. It hasn't been a great start for Jesper in Milwaukee, but he's only played in a single game thus far so..  hopefully it was just the teenage nerves gettin' to him~ 

Up next the Predators host the Blues... and though their opponent is yet to score this season, the FHL Sim tends to see this as an opportunity to prove to everyone that it doesn't always care about ratings. How will it do that?  Well, just watch today as St. Louis breaks out of their scoring slump on the road against the league's best defensive group (on paper). Bring it on, Sim!!