WHL Stars & NHL Debuts: WHL Champion Wiesblatt makes emotional Predators debut with family in attendance

Vancouver, B.C.- Ozzy Wiesblatt’s NHL debut carried extra meaning- just like his draft day.

The Nashville Predators forward turned heads before he even hit the ice on Friday by introducing himself in a video using American Sign Language (ASL).

Get to know the new kid on the block 🤝 pic.twitter.com/lBDpEGSmlE

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) January 3, 2025

Wiesblatt and his four siblings, Ocean, Orca, Oasiz and Oceania, learned ASL growing up from their mom, Kim, who is deaf.

Oasiz currently Captains the Medicine Hat Tigers, while Orca played parts of four seasons with the Calgary Hitmen.

The siblings- with the exception of Oasiz- were in attendance to watch Ozzy take his first lap in the NHL as the Predators shutout out the Canucks.

He even got to toss a puck to his mom during warmups.

Wiesblatt put up two hits in 9:42 of ice time as the Predators shut out the Canucks, 3-0.

The 5-foot-10, 183-pound winger got the news that he’d be getting called up on New Year’s Eve- with a memorable reaction.

“I just broke down, crying like a baby and it was hilarious,” Wiesblatt told the Predators content staff. “But yeah, just super excited to be here, honestly. It’s a dream come true.”

Big day, big moment, big game for Ozzy Wiesblatt 👏 pic.twitter.com/fVQCUUgXOV

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) January 4, 2025

Wiesblatt, now 22, was drafted by the Prince Albert Raiders in the second round of the 2017 WHL Prospects Draft.

He made his name as a gritty winger in Hockeytown North, putting up 58 goals (11 game-winners) and 121 assists for 179 points and a +56 rating in 195 games over parts of five seasons.

As a rookie, Wiesblatt made his presence known with five goals and five assists in 23 games as the Raiders clinched their second WHL Championship in franchise history.

He scored the lone goal (assisted by current Calgary Flames defenceman Brayden Pachal) in Prince Albert’s 1-0 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Championship and had another three points (one goal, two assists) in the grueling seven-game WHL Championship Series against the Vancouver Giants.

He also added an assist in three appearances at the 2019 Memorial Cup.

For his last two seasons, Wiesblatt would serve as an assistant captain for the Raiders.

In 2020, the San Jose Sharks announced that they were selecting him with the 31st overall pick in the first round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft using ASL, another meaningful moment for the Wiesblatt family.

After graduating from the WHL, Wiesblatt played two seasons with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.

He joined Nashville’s AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, on loan in 2023-24 and has been in the Predators’ system ever since.

Wiesblatt has totaled 19 goals and 30 assists for 49 points in 128 regular season appearances.

Fourteen of those points have come in 2024-25 alone.

Wiesblatt looks to stay in the lineup and make an impact at the NHL level as the Predators travel to his hometown of Calgary to take on the Flames on Saturday, January 4.