Time for Penguins to Fully Capitalize on This Year’s NHL Draft
It was last year at this time that Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations, Kyle Dubas, made his first significant move, in order to bring younger talent into the organization, as he traded Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes. Aside from Michael Bunting, who is now a member of the Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh received forward prospects Vasily Ponomarev, Ville Koivunen, and Cruz Lucuis. They also got a 2024 second round draft pick, which was used on defenseman Harrison Brunicke.
Dubas has been adding more talent to the system - most notably with another 2024 second rounder Tanner Howe, as well as Rutger McGroarty - regarded as the Penguins top prospect.
During the season, Dubas made a shrewd trade by acquiring forward Phillip Tomasino from the Predators, in exchange for a 2027 fourth round pick. Tomasino currently has nine goals in 36 games since arriving to Pittsburgh.
A few other noteworthy draft picks were obtained by Dubas. In November, he dealt Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals for a 2025 fifth round pick and a third round pick in 2027. Moving both Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor to the Vancouver Canucks, the main return was a conditional first round pick, which will either be this year or next, depending on where the New York Rangers finish at in the standings. At Friday’s trade deadline, Dubas sent Anthony Beauvillier to the Caps for a ‘25 second round pick.
Here is a preview of what this year’s NHL Draft will look like for Pittsburgh:
Round 1
Round 1 (conditional from NYR that VAN had for Pettersson/O’Connor)
Round 2 (Beauvillier trade)
Round 3
Round 3 (from MIN)
Round 3 (from OTT)
Round 4
Round 5
Round 5 (from CHI)
Round 5 (from NYR; Reilly Smith trade)
Round 6
Round 7
The Penguins will have at least 11 draft picks - the most for them in one particular draft since 2004.
Much speculation about the deadline is whether Rickard Rakell would be traded or not. As it turned out, the team’s leading goal scorer stayed put. However, it’s very possible that Dubas decides to move Rakell in the offseason, in search of that significant package containing top-tier prospects.
Currently, the Penguins have plenty of goaltending depth, so perhaps someone from that group is dealt for more draft pick capital.
While Dubas certainly won’t blow up the team and start from scratch, he’s looking to rebuild on the fly. This year’s draft is a great opportunity for Dubas to grossly stock up on quality, talent, and really kick the youth movement into high gear.