First round: Penguins pick big defenseman Pickering

MONTREAL -- The Penguins went big with their first-round pick on Day 1 of the draft Thursday in Montreal.

The Penguins selected left-handed defenseman Owen Pickering out of the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL. It was the first time that the Penguins have drafted a defenseman in the first round since taking both Derrick Pouliot and Olli Maatta in the first round a decade ago.

It was Kris Letang who had the honor of announcing the pick in his hometown, fresh off of signing his six-year, $36.6 million contract extension earlier that day.

"I was kind of in awe," Pickering said with a grin on the feeling of hearing Letang say his name. "It was super special."

As Pickering walked up the stairs to the draft stage to shake the hands of Letang, Letang's son Alex, and the Penguins' executives, it was immediately apparent what one of Pickering's best assets is.

His size. 

Pickering is listed at 6-foot-4, 181 pounds, and he's still growing.

While the Penguins could have used a big defenseman in their prospect pool, Penguins director of amateur scouting Nick Pryor said that the Penguins weren't taking position into account when making their pick. Pryor called it a "classic, best player on your board" situation, and said that they were surprised that Pickering was still available when pick No. 21 rolled around.

Pickering is a late bloomer. It was only three years ago he was undersized -- especially for a defenseman -- at 5-foot-7, 145 pounds. After a growth spurt that had him shoot up nine inches, Pickering is still working on adding some strength and muscle to fill out his big frame.

He might get even taller, too. Pickering said that he has some serious tall genes on his dad's side of the family, with some members as tall as 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-9.

Pickering said that the biggest strengths of his game are his skating and hockey sense, as well as his puck skills. He has an offensive dimension to his game, too. He led all Swift Current defensemen in scoring this past season with nine goals and 24 assists in 62 games.

Physicality is something he's looking to develop. He doesn't lack the drive to have a physical edge to his game, but he's still adjusting to his body and filling out physically after his big growth spurt.

"I don't lack the competitiveness one bit," Pickering said. "I just feel like right now it's maybe a little bit difficult sometimes being 180 pounds. But that's not an excuse. And if you look from the start of the year to the end of the year, that part of my game developed a lot and I think it'll take another step next year."

Pryor didn't identify any glaring weaknesses in Pickering's game, saying that these next few years are going to be about maturing physically and adding to his frame, and taking the time all young defensemen need to become pro-ready.

I asked Pickering if there are any defensemen currently in the league that he looks up to or tries to emulate, and he named two: Dallas' Miro Heiskanen and Philadelphia's Travis Sanheim. 

"Now I have to probably say Kris Letang," he added with a laugh.

Pickering is incredibly personable and articulate for a player his age, something he credited to the way he was raised by his parents. His personality is something that drew the Penguins further to him, with Pickering acing his interviews with the Penguins' western scout during the year, and then again with management at the scouting combine and the draft.

"He's a really quality person with a good head on his shoulders," Pryor said.

Pickering will return to the WHL next season. With the NHL's transfer agreement with the CHL leagues, Pickering won't be eligible to play in the minor leagues until age 20. His options are either straight to the NHL or back to junior. And with some developing and (literal) growing to do, Pickering will continue to take those steps in Swift Current for now.

Pickering didn't want to make a guess at how long it might take him to be NHL-ready. He'll go into the camp with the mentality of trying to make the team, but is realistic about the likelihood of going back to Swift Current in the fall.

"If you would have told me a year ago that I'd be in this position, I probably would have told you you're a little crazy," he said. "That's not to say I don't have confidence in myself. It just happened pretty fast. I grew, got stronger, put in some good situations in the lineup, and I feel like I took advantage of it. I definitely think I earned it, and I'm proud of that."

SCOUTS SAY

Elite Prospects: "The core of Pickering’s game is what he does with the puck. On retrievals, he deceives, cuts back, then sprints to the inside. With head fakes and changes of pace, he mis-directs forecheckers and then hits a teammate up the ice. When he’s not leading the rush, he’s joining it. And that activation interacts with his projectable shot and exciting playmaking flashes."

Smaht Scouting: "It’s unfair to talk about the bad aspects of Pickering’s game without also acknowledging that most, if not all of these areas are teachable. Pickering can be molded into a top-four defenseman capable of seeing time on a power-play unit and, with enough development, maybe even the penalty kill. I mentioned at the beginning of this report that Pickering was one of the biggest ‘what if’ players in this draft class, and it’s true. What if he becomes a better passer? What if he becomes a dominant force in transition? What if Pickering becomes an elite two-way defender? All of these are possible when you look at his current skill set. It’s going to take the right team and the right development path for Pickering to get to that point, though.”

Sportsnet: “Projection as a top-3 defenseman is based on his upside as a late-blooming player with raw tools.”