The draft class: Penguins come away with 13 'lottery tickets'
The Penguins made 13 selections over the course of the draft on Friday and Saturday, the most picks they've made in a single draft in 31 years.
Back then, of course, the draft was 11 rounds, not the seven it is today. When the Penguins made 14 picks back in 1994, they only had to accumulate three additional picks, not the six that they added this year through a multitude of trades.
Penguins vice president of player personnel Wes Clark stated the obvious about this class at the end of Saturday that "they're not all going to work out." But of the eight forwards, four defensemen and one goaltender picked ... some of them are bound to pan out.
"The more lottery tickets you have increases your chances to hopefully hit," Clark said of the team's rationale behind stockpiling picks."We'll see as time progresses with the development staff, (director of player development Tom Kostopoulos) and all the new bodies that we have in the system. It'll be interesting to see who develops quicker than others, and who can get there at the end."
There's no one real trend that stands out with this class. They didn't target an abundance of any one element -- it's not strikingly full of high-end skill, or size, or physicality, or any one position group. The picks come from all three Canadian major junior leagues, the NCAA, USHL, and independent Canadian junior hockey.
The class is big, and it's balanced. They took what measures they could to give them the best chance to get as many prospects as possible to hopefully be a part of this retool and usher the Penguins back into contention.
They entered the week with the most picks over the next three years of any team, and in particular the most picks in the first three rounds in the next three years of any team. Expect the next two years to continue to look a lot like this one, as the team tries to cash in on as many "lottery tickets" as possible.
"We had 13 picks this year," Clark said. "We've got a number of picks next year, a number of picks the year after that. We'll do our best to execute on those picks and continue to try and make this club better and expedite it as quick as we can."
Here's a look at the 13 newest members of the prospect pool, with links to my separate stories on each:
Pick 11: Ben Kindel, forward: A small but skilled center who the Penguins' scouts "keyed in on" in the WHL early in the season, and formerly played on a line with prospect Tanner Howe.
Pick 22: Bill Zonnon, forward: A well-rounded hard-working, playmaking center from the QMJHL.
Pick 24: Will Horcoff, forward: A University of Michigan product who is 6-foot-5, skilled at the net-front, physical and uses his long reach to defend well.
Pick 39: Peyton Kettles, defenseman: A big, 6-foot-6 WHL product who was Owen Pickering's defense partner in junior.
Pick 73: Charlie Trethewey, defenseman: A two-way, puck-moving defenseman from the U.S. National Team Development Program and a product of the Penguins Elite program.
Pick 84: Gabriel D'Aigle, goaltender: At 6 foot 4, one of the biggest goaltenders in the class. Someone director of goaltending Jon Elkin watched extensively on the QMJHL's worst team.
Pick 91: Brady Peddle, defenseman: A 6-foot-3, physical, "crushing" USHL product who aims to "inflict pain."
Pick 105: Travis Hayes, forward: A high-energy, "hungry" Soo Greyhound and a younger brother of Penguins prospect Avery Hayes.
Pick 130: Ryan Miller,forward: A "relentless" winger from the WHL who thrives in wall battles despite being on the smaller side.
Pick 148: Quinn Beauchesne, defenseman: An OHL product who makes good first passes and "defends well" but needs to work on managing turnovers.
Pick 154: Jordan Charron, forward: Another Soo Greyhound who has a small sample size in the OHL, but showed strong skating and a strong shot in his limited games.
Pick 169: Carter Sanderson, forward: One of the youngest players in the draft, someone who wasn't often able to find the scoresheet but made an impact nonetheless in the USHL.
Pick 201: Kale Dach, forward: A two-way forward from the BCHL, who will go to the WHL and then Penn State in the future.
THE ASYLUM
The draft class: Penguins come away with 13 'lottery tickets'
The Penguins made 13 selections over the course of the draft on Friday and Saturday, the most picks they've made in a single draft in 31 years.
Back then, of course, the draft was 11 rounds, not the seven it is today. When the Penguins made 14 picks back in 1994, they only had to accumulate three additional picks, not the six that they added this year through a multitude of trades.
Penguins vice president of player personnel Wes Clark stated the obvious about this class at the end of Saturday that "they're not all going to work out." But of the eight forwards, four defensemen and one goaltender picked ... some of them are bound to pan out.
"The more lottery tickets you have increases your chances to hopefully hit," Clark said of the team's rationale behind stockpiling picks."We'll see as time progresses with the development staff, (director of player development Tom Kostopoulos) and all the new bodies that we have in the system. It'll be interesting to see who develops quicker than others, and who can get there at the end."
There's no one real trend that stands out with this class. They didn't target an abundance of any one element -- it's not strikingly full of high-end skill, or size, or physicality, or any one position group. The picks come from all three Canadian major junior leagues, the NCAA, USHL, and independent Canadian junior hockey.
The class is big, and it's balanced. They took what measures they could to give them the best chance to get as many prospects as possible to hopefully be a part of this retool and usher the Penguins back into contention.
They entered the week with the most picks over the next three years of any team, and in particular the most picks in the first three rounds in the next three years of any team. Expect the next two years to continue to look a lot like this one, as the team tries to cash in on as many "lottery tickets" as possible.
"We had 13 picks this year," Clark said. "We've got a number of picks next year, a number of picks the year after that. We'll do our best to execute on those picks and continue to try and make this club better and expedite it as quick as we can."
Here's a look at the 13 newest members of the prospect pool, with links to my separate stories on each:
Pick 11: Ben Kindel, forward: A small but skilled center who the Penguins' scouts "keyed in on" in the WHL early in the season, and formerly played on a line with prospect Tanner Howe.
Pick 22: Bill Zonnon, forward: A well-rounded hard-working, playmaking center from the QMJHL.
Pick 24: Will Horcoff, forward: A University of Michigan product who is 6-foot-5, skilled at the net-front, physical and uses his long reach to defend well.
Pick 39: Peyton Kettles, defenseman: A big, 6-foot-6 WHL product who was Owen Pickering's defense partner in junior.
Pick 73: Charlie Trethewey, defenseman: A two-way, puck-moving defenseman from the U.S. National Team Development Program and a product of the Penguins Elite program.
Pick 84: Gabriel D'Aigle, goaltender: At 6 foot 4, one of the biggest goaltenders in the class. Someone director of goaltending Jon Elkin watched extensively on the QMJHL's worst team.
Pick 91: Brady Peddle, defenseman: A 6-foot-3, physical, "crushing" USHL product who aims to "inflict pain."
Pick 105: Travis Hayes, forward: A high-energy, "hungry" Soo Greyhound and a younger brother of Penguins prospect Avery Hayes.
Pick 130: Ryan Miller, forward: A "relentless" winger from the WHL who thrives in wall battles despite being on the smaller side.
Pick 148: Quinn Beauchesne, defenseman: An OHL product who makes good first passes and "defends well" but needs to work on managing turnovers.
Pick 154: Jordan Charron, forward: Another Soo Greyhound who has a small sample size in the OHL, but showed strong skating and a strong shot in his limited games.
Pick 169: Carter Sanderson, forward: One of the youngest players in the draft, someone who wasn't often able to find the scoresheet but made an impact nonetheless in the USHL.
Pick 201: Kale Dach, forward: A two-way forward from the BCHL, who will go to the WHL and then Penn State in the future.
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