NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Today is the day.
The Penguins are set to pick a player at No. 14 overall this evening on Day 1 of the NHL Draft here at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
The draft is often the setting for a flurry of trades across the league. Penguins president of hockey operations and acting general manager Kyle Dubas, in his pre-draft press conference last week, acknowledged that the Penguins could move up or down in the draft as part of larger deals. Wherever they do pick, they aren't going to be worried about drafting based on any sort of fit or position. They're going to take the best player available.
"I don’t think anybody that we draft, especially at 14, is going to make an impact on the roster, speaking just in probabilities, not for another couple of years. Two or three years, at least," Dubas said. "The goal in the draft and the needs of our team, if you start to project two or three years out, are totally different. Especially where the organization is in terms of the prospect pool and where the roster’s at, you cannot worry about how a player may fit in two or three years. We have to get the best player we can at 14, or we can move up and acquire somebody that’s really going to make a difference. We can move back to collect more draft capital and really add to the quantity of our prospects, but they have to be the best players available."
The Penguins met with close to 60 players at the combine, though those aren't obviously all potential first-round picks. Some of those players the team met with were for picks they have later in the draft, or in ranges where the Penguins don't have picks at all, as the scouting staff did its due diligence in the event of a trade bringing in additional picks.
I ran a series over the last few weeks taking a look at a number of players that could potentially be that first-round pick for the Penguins, all including information from interviews from either my trip to the combine in Buffalo, N.Y., or here in Nashville.
Here are the links to all 15 profiles as part of that series, ranked by me by best to least best. A couple of these players could go higher than No. 14 and are just possibilities to fall to where the Penguins pick, and some of them are expected to go lower in the first round but are options if the Penguins happen to trade down.
• Zach Benson, forward, Winnipeg ICE (WHL)
• Oliver Moore, forward, U.S. National Team Development Program
• Dalibor Dvorsky, forward, AIK (Allsvenskan)
• David Reinbacher, defenseman, Kloten (NL)
• Gabe Perreault, forward, U.S. National Team Development Program
• Axel Sandin-Pellikka, defenseman, Skelleftea (SHL)
• Matthew Wood, forward, University of Connecticut (NCAA)
• Brayden Yager, forward, Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
• Colby Barlow, forward, Owen Sound Attack (OHL)
• Nate Danielson, forward, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
• Eduard Sale, forward, HC Kometa Brno (Czechia)
• Sam Honzek, forward, Vancouver Giants (WHL)
• Andrew Cristall, forward, Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
• Otto Stenberg, forward, Frolunda (SHL)
• Riley Heidt, forward, Prince George Cougars (WHL)
I've confirmed that the Penguins have at least met with all of the above except for Barlow, who told me at the combine that he didn't meet with the Penguins. It's unclear whether he did in Nashville. Perreault, Yager and Benson all told me that they were taken out to dinner (separately) by Dubas and/or the scouting staff while at the combine.
Whoever the Penguins do end up taking with that pick (assuming they don't trade it entirely!) will likely become the Penguins' top prospect. This is an exceptionally strong draft class in the early rounds, perhaps the best that the league has seen since the incredible class of 2003. The Penguins are bound to get a great player.
"I think this is a really deep draft class in the first round," NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr said at the scouting combine earlier this month in Buffalo. "You know, the top 50 all are going to be pretty good players down the road. We do our best, the NHL scouts do their best to get the order correct. But we won't know for another two or three years."
With the Penguins' prospect pool being as shallow as it is and the team getting closer to an inevitable rebuild each year, this first-round pick is sure to play a pretty significant role in the franchise's future.
They'll find out exactly who that is this evening.
KEY DRAFT INFO
When: Today, 7 p.m. Eastern (Round 1), Tomorrow, 11 a.m. (Rounds 2-7)
Where: Bridgestone Arena
TV: ESPN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports (Wednesday); NHL Network, Sportsnet, TVA Sports (Thursday)
Forward Connor Bedard is the consensus No. 1 pick. Forward Adam Fantilli, forward Leo Carlsson, and forward Will Smith make up some of the next expected picks. The wild card is where exactly Matvei Michkov lands. Michkov is seen as potentially the second-best player available, but him being signed in the KHL for the next three years and general apprehension over picking Russian players in today's geopolitical climate may have Michkov slip in the order.
PENGUINS' PICKS
• Round 1, No. 14 overall
• Round 3, No. 90 overall (from New Jersey in John Marino trade)
• Round 5, No. 142 overall
• Round 6, No. 174 overall
• Round 7, No. 217 overall (from Toronto in Jared McCann trade)
• Round 7, No. 223 overall (from Florida in swap of seventh-round picks in 2022 draft)
The Penguins' missing second-round pick went to the Predators in the Mikael Granlund deal. Their own third-round pick went to the Kings in the Jeff Carter trade. Their fourth-round pick went to Montreal in the Jeff Petry/Ryan Poehling trade. Their own seventh-round pick went to San Jose in the Nick Bonino trade.
FIRST ROUND ORDER
1. Chicago Blackhawks
2. Anaheim Ducks
3. Columbus Blue Jackets
4. San Jose Sharks
5. Montreal Canadiens
6. Arizona Coyotes
7. Philadelphia Flyers
8. Washington Capitals
9. Detroit Red Wings
10. St. Louis Blues
11. Vancouver Canucks
12. Arizona Coyotes (from Senators)
13. Buffalo Sabres
14. Pittsburgh Penguins
15. Nashville Predators
16. Calgary Flames
17. Detroit Red Wings (from Islanders via Canucks)
18. Winnipeg Jets
19. Chicago Blackhawks (from Lightning)
20. Seattle Kraken
21. Minnesota Wild
22. Philadelphia Flyers (from Kings via Blue Jackets)
23. New York Rangers
24. Nashville Predators (from Oilers)
25. St. Louis Blues (from Maple Leafs)
26. San Jose Sharks (from Devils)
27. Colorado Avalanche
28. Toronto Maple Leafs (from Bruins via Capitals)
29. St. Louis Blues (from Stars via Rangers)
30. Carolina Hurricanes
31. Colorado Avalanche (from Panthers via Canadiens)
32. Vegas Golden Knights