Marian Cisar

Marian Cisar was the very first Nashville Predators' hockey player.

Days before the 1998 NHL Expansion draft, the Nashville Predators arranged a trade with the Los Angeles Kings and acquired Cisar - a 20 year old Slovakian who was playing junior hockey in the Western Hockey League with the Spokane Chiefs.

The Kings had drafted Cisar with the 37th overall pick back in 1996. The Predators were happy to land an offensive prospect, though he lacked aggression an physical play.

"Beginning with a player like Marian will allow us to start with out and begin the development of our organization," said general manager David Poile.

The lack of aggression caused the young right winger a lot of grief with coach Barry Trotz. He had had a quiet first couple of seasons in the minor leagues. He was finally given a three game look late in the 1999-2000 season.

But it was not a great first impression as far as the Predators were concerned. It is never a good thing when the coach questions your intensity in your first three NHL games.

Cisar must have taken the criticism to heart in the summer. He came to training camp in 2000 and looked fantastic. He ended up sticking with the Predators for the entire 2000-01 season, scoring 12 goals and 27 points in 60 games. That was good enough for seventh place in team scoring.

A nasty hip flexor injury cost Cisar almost the entire 2001-02 season. he would only be able to participate in 12 total games including 10 with the Predators.

That proved to be the last appearance for Cisar in the National Hockey League. He headed back to Europe in 2002, playing in Finland, Czech Republic and Germany in the next three years.

That's when Cisar suffered another serious injury. While playing with Hannover in 2004-05 he struggled with the effects of a concussion. He never did return to the ice, opting to retire.