Michigan defenseman tops 'average' draft class taken at PPG Paints Arena (Penguins)

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ATHLETICS

Owen Power.

The 2021 NHL draft will be anything but typical.

Nonetheless, Patrik Allvin believes it will be "average."

In at least one regard, anyway.

"I would say it's probably an average year (for talent)," said Allvin, the Penguins' assistant general manager. "From what I've seen, I wouldn't say it's a great year."

His assessment carries a significant asterisk, though.

"It's really hard to get a real good feel for it," Allvin said. "Because I haven't seen all of the players."

Mind you, neither has anyone else who evaluates young hockey talent for a living.

Not during the past 16 months or so.

Some leagues that develop prospects for the draft operated on a reduced schedule, or shut down entirely, for the past season because of the pandemic. What's more, there were high-profile events, including the world junior championships in Edmonton, that were off-limits to scouts because of COVID-19 concerns.

That means that when the draft is conducted July 23-24, teams will be investing some of their choices in players they haven't seen in person for over a year.

"It's definitely been a challenge, not being able to get into rinks," Allvin said. "Some of the (draft prospects) haven't been playing."

One who did -- at least a little -- was University of Michigan defenseman Owen Power, who is expected to go to Buffalo with the first choice in the draft. He is 6 foot 6, 213 pounds and had three goals, 13 assists and 40 blocked shots in 26 games with the Wolverines.

While the Penguins surely would like to add a defensive prospect with Power's blend of size and skill, he figures to be house-hunting on the Niagara Frontier long before they make their first selection, which will come in the middle of the second round and will be No. 57 overall.

Barring a trade, their other choices will come in the fifth (No. 153) and seventh (Nos. 193, 214 and 217) rounds.

It would not be a surprise to see Ron Hextall try to package some or all of his seventh-rounders to acquire a choice in an earlier round, although there realistically is a limited amount of upward mobility when offering assets of that caliber.

This will be Hextall's first draft as GM of the Penguins, although he and director of player personnel Chris Pryor oversaw several while working in Philadelphia.

Regardless, Hextall has expressed confidence in the amateur scouting staff he inherited from Jim Rutherford, and Allvin noted that that group has been able to turn up prospects with legitimate pro potential from the depths of a few draft classes.

"I still trust and believe in our scouting staff," he said. "That they will find those mid- to late-round guys."



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