© Zach Gilchriest

As the first day of Rookie Camp wound down into its final drills on Wednesday, Nashville Predators forward prospect Ozzy Wiesblatt skated out onto the blueline and lined up opposite his partner Jack Matier.

Despite an eight-inch, 20-pound disadvantage, seconds after the whistle sounded, Wiesblatt had sent his puck-carrying teammate careening to the playing surface off a huge, open-ice hit.

Collecting the loose puck out of the corner as his teammates cheered their approval from the neutral zone, none of it seemed to faze No. 89 too much.

“That’s just the type of player I am,” Wiesblatt told the media matter-of-factly after practice the following day. “I’ve always played that way, and I don’t plan on changing that anytime soon.”

Of course, that’s just as well for the Predators.

While the hard-nosed identity is often bad news for his opponents, it pointed to nothing but upside for Nashville’s front office, which took Wiesblatt on loan from the San Jose Sharks in the waning days of the Milwaukee Admirals’ 2023-24 campaign.

Though San Jose’s 2020 first-round pick (31st overall) ended his final season with the Sharks’ AHL affiliate Barracuda recording just 11 points (3g-8a) and a -9 rating in 34 games, the fresh start in Milwaukee was evidently all the former WHL champion needed to get his game going again.

From March 19-April 21, Wiesblatt put up six points (1g-5a) and a +4 rating in 16 outings, including a two-point performance against the Manitoba Moose on April 17. In Milwaukee’s 15-game march to the Calder Cup Playoffs’ Western Conference Finals, Wiesblatt added another nine points (2g-7a) and +1 rating.

Two weeks after the Admirals season ended, the Predators made the loan a full-fledged acquisition, dealing their 2019 second-round pick Egor Afanasyev to the Sharks to keep Wiesblatt in their system for the 2024-25 campaign.

“It’s just hard work,” Wiesblatt said. “I think that’s where everything starts with me. Everything else will take care of itself as long as I’m working hard and competing. That’s my game, is competing all the time.”

That fierce competitive nature and the tough-as-nails identity were no doubt molded early on. The second-youngest of four brothers – Ocean (25), Orca (24), Ozzy (22) and Oasiz (20) – Wiesblatt indeed credited his family for playing a large part in his hockey upbringing.

“We’d be in the backyard playing roller hockey and we’d all just be slashing each other,” Wiesblatt said. “I got pretty tough that way, and my parents weren’t stopping it, so it was kind of a free for all growing up. My little brother [Oasiz] is a really tough hockey player himself, so I think it’s just in our blood.”

While Ozzy became the first of the Wiesblatt brothers to turn full pro, he’s not yet satisfied. The ultimate goal, of course, is to reach the National Hockey League.

“I felt like I had a really good end to the season last year, and I got my game back to where I wanted to be,” Wiesblatt said. “I felt really good at the end of the year and I want to bring it over. My goal is to make the team and nothing short of that.”

Whenever that day comes, Wiesblatt knows there will be plenty of people – his brothers included – to thank.

“I think about that sometimes,” Wiesblatt said. “It’s special for me, but people have helped me so much along the way. And not even just my family, but other families helping provide for us. We were never a rich family growing up, so a lot of families have stepped in and helped me. So, it’s going to be huge for them and myself, and just special.”

Wiesblatt will see game action later this week and into the weekend as the Predators host the Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers prospect squads during the 2024 NHL Rookie Showcase at Ford Ice Center Bellevue.

Nashville’s portion of the showcase schedule includes games against Florida on Sept. 13 (2 p.m. CT), Tampa Bay on Sept. 14 (5 p.m. CT) and Carolina on Sept. 16 (1 p.m. CT). Click here to get tickets and click here to view Nashville’s full showcase roster.

All six of the showcase’s games will be broadcast live on NashvillePredators.com with Willy Daunic, Chris Mason, Hal Gill, Pete Weber, Max Herz and Jay More providing commentary on a rotational basis.