2025 NHL Draft

[Daniel]

Curious..

If the Pens won first overall in the lottery, who do you draft?

If the Pens won second overall in the lottery, who do you draft?

Trade back to 2/3, grab one of the top centers, and enjoy the extra assets.

Take one of the top centers. I haven't done enough research to know which one I would prefer, so I'll leave that to the people in the know.

I wouldn't drop too far back though, but agree with this option. Not really sure about the value of a defensemen at #1 and there are 5 good centers in this years draft (Hagens, Misa, Desnoyers, Frontell, McQueen). Misa/Desnoyer/Frontell seem like pretty safe choices. Misa seems to be rising because he's at over 2 ppg this season, but all 3 read to be at least 2Cs. McQueen seems like a boom/bust kind of prospect and something seems off about Hagens. Granted this is just by reading about the prospects so take it for what it's worth. In the end, if I traded the pick I wouldn't go further back than 6th overall to be sure to get one of those 5 (someone will draft Schaefer).

That said, if Misa, keeps rising, I probably wouldn't trade the pick.

I wouldn't drop back at all. I'd take Matthew Schaefer first overall without thinking twice. Remember, we need a #1 d-man and two top 6 centers as our basis. Schaefer is hands down the best player in the draft at this point. He's said to have very similar qualities to both Makar and Quinn Hughes. Craig Button compared him to Drew Doughty.

In terms of the centers, in an ideal world, I'd actually prefer to finish 3-5 range to pick a center. Desnoyers and Frondell have made the biggest climb over the last few months. And, while I'm sure there may be warts or "negative press" on them too,
--Hagens - concerns about his lack of dominance this year in college. He went 12 games with only 1 goal at one point. He's the smallest of the "centers."
--Misa - He's played center, but he is predominately playing LW this year, so, while his skill level is insane, he may not end up a center at NHL level.
--McQueen - The back injury is always going to loom large. But at 6'5, 193, he's already at NHL size.

For Frondell, my thinking is his ceiling and his floor both play for the Florida Panthers....Alexander Barkov as his ceiling, and Anton Lundell as his floor. I think Lundell actually has more in him and could be a 20 goal, 50 point guy if he played more in the top 6. I almost think Florida would be wise to flip him and Bennett occasionally to give Lundell more minutes with more offensive players.

Desnoyers I have seen drawn comparisons to Sean Couturier, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Jonathan Toews. He his pace of play and motor have come into question a bit, but he is a good two-way center.

If Schaefer was a RHD I'd agree, but think LHD is easier to find than a legit top 2 line center, even if his comparisons are with Makar and Doughty, neither of which were #1 picks. While I wouldn't be disappoint, I'd trade down and take Desnoyers or Lundell. I think at this point in the Penguins development, they need the next star center.

[FLPensFan]

I get what you are saying, but I also think it is kind of a stereotype. RHD are most definitely harder to find, but, why does your #1 d-man need to be a RD? Think about the Dumoulin-Letang pairing for a minute. I think there was a 2-3 year period where Dumo played like a #2 d-man, but when he started and ended with Letang, I think he was more a solid 2nd pairing d-man on most other teams.

So why can't that just be reversed? If RHD are harder to find, that it should be easier to find a "Dumo-type" RHD to stick with your stud #1 LHD. Brunicke has the makings of a good 2nd pairing d-man, but maybe he's able to be a top pairing guy along side someone like Shaefer.

I think the trend was for RHD to be the #1 guy. Not sure if that is because they are harder to find or if it was just the influx of talented RH d-men over a period of time....Doughty, Letang, Karlsson, etc. Right now, 6 of the top 10 highest cap hit d-men are RH. Karlsson, Doughty, Fox, McAvoy, Seth Jones, and Makar are the righties. Werenski, Dahlin, Nurse, and Werenski as the lefties. If I go out to the top 20 d-men, it 12 out of 20. But, interestingly, of those 12 defensemen, 8 of them are 30 or older, with 4 of the 8 d-men 34 or older. When you look at the LD, 6 of the 8 are 27 or younger, with 4 of them 25 and younger.

This seems to be showing a switch to a LHD dominate #1 defensemen.

[Daniel]

I get what you are saying, but I also think it is kind of a stereotype. RHD are most definitely harder to find, but, why does your #1 d-man need to be a RD? Think about the Dumoulin-Letang pairing for a minute. I think there was a 2-3 year period where Dumo played like a #2 d-man, but when he started and ended with Letang, I think he was more a solid 2nd pairing d-man on most other teams.

So why can't that just be reversed? If RHD are harder to find, that it should be easier to find a "Dumo-type" RHD to stick with your stud #1 LHD. Brunicke has the makings of a good 2nd pairing d-man, but maybe he's able to be a top pairing guy along side someone like Shaefer.

I think the trend was for RHD to be the #1 guy. Not sure if that is because they are harder to find or if it was just the influx of talented RH d-men over a period of time....Doughty, Letang, Karlsson, etc. Right now, 6 of the top 10 highest cap hit d-men are RH. Karlsson, Doughty, Fox, McAvoy, Seth Jones, and Makar are the righties. Werenski, Dahlin, Nurse, and Werenski as the lefties. If I go out to the top 20 d-men, it 12 out of 20. But, interestingly, of those 12 defensemen, 8 of them are 30 or older, with 4 of the 8 d-men 34 or older. When you look at the LD, 6 of the 8 are 27 or younger, with 4 of them 25 and younger.

This seems to be showing a switch to a LHD dominate #1 defensemen.

I didn't mean a RHD as specifically a number 1 guy just that it's easier to get a top LHD than it is to get a top RHD or a top center. I like Sullivan's L-R method for defensemen so that would have Pickering as 2 which isn't a big deal, just noteworthy. Would you play Schaefer and Pickering on the 1st pair?

With Schaefer vs Desnoyer/Frondell the question is this. What's the drop off from him to lets say Mrtka compared to Desnoyers/Frondell to lets say Carter Bear or Brady Martin? That's always my question about picking A vs B, what's the drop off from the guy you can get to the next draft pick. Of course all this presumes a Rangers 1st, which I think for the time being we might as well.

Not against Shaefer, I just think he's an easier asset to get compared to a top center. Would be a great problem to have though, having the #1 pick.

[Michael74]

We're far more likely to pick 10th than 1st. I think many here are getting way ahead of themselves.

[Daniel]

We're far more likely to pick 10th than 1st. I think many here are getting way ahead of themselves.

Really, ahead of ourselves? We’re talking about a mock draft full of 17-18 year olds that haven’t gone through a combine, of course it’s premature.

I guess I can change the title to the we’re ahead of ourselves because we don’t have the draft order and the season is still going draft discussion.

[Michael74]

We're far more likely to pick 10th than 1st. I think many here are getting way ahead of themselves.

Really, ahead of ourselves? We’re talking about a mock draft full of 17-18 year olds that haven’t gone through a combine, of course it’s premature.

I guess I can change the title to the we’re ahead of ourselves because we don’t have the draft order and the season is still going draft discussion.

That's not my point. Specifically we're sitting around 8th OA. We'll likely finish between 6th and 11th 0A. I just think discussing players in that area of the draft makes a bit more sense. I'm hoping we stay in the top eight. Tonight could go a long way in determining that trajectory. But it's very certain we're not getting a top five pick Unless we make a deal to move up, or even more remotely, win the lottery.

[Daniel]

We're far more likely to pick 10th than 1st. I think many here are getting way ahead of themselves.

Really, ahead of ourselves? We’re talking about a mock draft full of 17-18 year olds that haven’t gone through a combine, of course it’s premature.

I guess I can change the title to the we’re ahead of ourselves because we don’t have the draft order and the season is still going draft discussion.

That's not my point. Specifically we're sitting around 8th OA. We'll likely finish between 6th and 11th 0A. I just think discussing players in that area of the draft makes a bit more sense. I'm hoping we stay in the top eight. Tonight could go a long way in determining that trajectory. But it's very certain we're not getting a top five pick Unless we make a deal move up or even more remotely, win the lottery.

Honestly I was messing with you. This stuff changes almost daily so have no issues discussing a guy like Schaefer, which only happens if the Pens win the lottery, no matter what the position is.

I’m posting like they’ll have about 6th and 15th and who knows how realistic that is.

[BigMcK]

Perusing through some site player projections for the draft, there didn't seem to be any goalie mentioned worthy of a first-round pick. Is this really a down year for a possible franchise goalie in the mix?

[Pens4Life]

Perusing through some site player projections for the draft, there didn't seem to be any goalie mentioned worthy of a first-round pick. Is this really a down year for a possible franchise goalie in the mix?

The last thing we should be scouting for is a goalie.. knock knock Murashov

[Pitts]

Perusing through some site player projections for the draft, there didn't seem to be any goalie mentioned worthy of a first-round pick. Is this really a down year for a possible franchise goalie in the mix?

The last thing we should be scouting for is a goalie.. knock knock Murashov

Agreed. I truly believe Murashov will be the future. The kid just seems to win everywhere he goes. As has been discussed, this team needs top 6 forward talent.

[thehockeyguru]

Perusing through some site player projections for the draft, there didn't seem to be any goalie mentioned worthy of a first-round pick. Is this really a down year for a possible franchise goalie in the mix?

The last thing we should be scouting for is a goalie.. knock knock Murashov

Agreed. I truly believe Murashov will be the future. The kid just seems to win everywhere he goes. As has been discussed, this team needs top 6 forward talent.

How quickly we forget the rise and fall of Matt Murray. You need 3 goalies in your organization that are NHL ready to keep that going you should draft a goalie every year

[FLPensFan]

Perusing through some site player projections for the draft, there didn't seem to be any goalie mentioned worthy of a first-round pick. Is this really a down year for a possible franchise goalie in the mix?

The last thing we should be scouting for is a goalie.. knock knock Murashov

Agreed. I truly believe Murashov will be the future. The kid just seems to win everywhere he goes. As has been discussed, this team needs top 6 forward talent.

How quickly we forget the rise and fall of Matt Murray. You need 3 goalies in your organization that are NHL ready to keep that going you should draft a goalie every year

Blomqvist, Murashov, Larsson, Gauthier. Disagree about drafting a goalie every year. You'll quickly run out of places to play them, like we have now. Murashov was stuck in Wheeling; Gauthier is STILL stuck in Wheeling.

"“I dannae is she can take any more goalies, Captain!”

[Daniel]

Perusing through some site player projections for the draft, there didn't seem to be any goalie mentioned worthy of a first-round pick. Is this really a down year for a possible franchise goalie in the mix?

The last thing we should be scouting for is a goalie.. knock knock Murashov

Agreed. I truly believe Murashov will be the future. The kid just seems to win everywhere he goes. As has been discussed, this team needs top 6 forward talent.

How quickly we forget the rise and fall of Matt Murray. You need 3 goalies in your organization that are NHL ready to keep that going you should draft a goalie every year

Blomqvist, Murashov, Larsson, Gauthier. Disagree about drafting a goalie every year. You'll quickly run out of places to play them, like we have now. Murashov was stuck in Wheeling; Gauthier is STILL stuck in Wheeling.

"“I dannae is she can take any more goalies, Captain!”

I can see a mid round goalie, probably next year when they have the extra picks. Blomqvist is all of a sudden 23, Larsson is about 27 and Gauthier is 24. All 3 should be in the NHL either as a starter or backup. Lindberg is technically in the system but in Europe and 26. Murashov is the only real prospect at this point.

[Pitts]

Perusing through some site player projections for the draft, there didn't seem to be any goalie mentioned worthy of a first-round pick. Is this really a down year for a possible franchise goalie in the mix?

The last thing we should be scouting for is a goalie.. knock knock Murashov

Agreed. I truly believe Murashov will be the future. The kid just seems to win everywhere he goes. As has been discussed, this team needs top 6 forward talent.

How quickly we forget the rise and fall of Matt Murray. You need 3 goalies in your organization that are NHL ready to keep that going you should draft a goalie every year

I get your point, but flash-in-the-pans happen. True number ones come along once in a while as well and the past several years, they've been Russian. Here's hoping we found our Russian.

[FLPensFan]

Perusing through some site player projections for the draft, there didn't seem to be any goalie mentioned worthy of a first-round pick. Is this really a down year for a possible franchise goalie in the mix?

The last thing we should be scouting for is a goalie.. knock knock Murashov

Agreed. I truly believe Murashov will be the future. The kid just seems to win everywhere he goes. As has been discussed, this team needs top 6 forward talent.

How quickly we forget the rise and fall of Matt Murray. You need 3 goalies in your organization that are NHL ready to keep that going you should draft a goalie every year

I get your point, but flash-in-the-pans happen. True number ones come along once in a while as well and the past several years, they've been Russian. Here's hoping we found our Russian.

Sorokin
Shesterkin
Samsonov
Bobrovsky
Vasilevskiy
Georgiev
Varlamov
Tarasov
Askarov
Kochetkov

10 Russian goalies who have played meaningful NHL games the last few years. While some have been more down lately (Samsonov, Georgiev) than up, they've all had a good run. Russia seems to have the market cornered on producing goalies. They must send them all to the Vladislav Tretiak school of goaltending.

[thehockeyguru]

And while our current crop of young goalies shows promise they haven't proved anything at the NHL level

[FLPensFan]

And while our current crop of young goalies shows promise they haven't proved anything at the NHL level

Only one of them has gotten a shot. I wouldn't rush Murashov. Plan on him being the guy next year at WBS, and maybe give him a few starts in the NHL to see where his progression is. If Murashov stays on track, he should be a backup or split start for 26-27 season.

Gauthier is an RFA this summer, and I wouldn't be surprised if he asks the Penguins to let him walk. He showed promise last year in the ECHL, but is blocked by better prospects at the AHL level, and that probably doesn't change next year. He needs a change of scenery.

I guess I'm coming around to the idea of drafting a goalie, but I would say every other year is probably better consistency. That way there is a bit of spacing between them. You've got about 2 years from draft to AHL, and you've got 2 years in the AHL to decide whether they are worth keeping and developing or drafting more new goalies.

[Pens4Life]

I think for a year or two we can skip drafting goalies.. we have overcrowded position already. Goalies mature later than players as well.

Murashov, Larsson, Blomquist should be our 2/3 of NHL goalies in next years.. I wouldnt rush Murashov either ,but I hope he would be up to job more in 2026-2027 season. Next season he gets 10 games of NHL taste, then maybe 50% already..

[thehockeyguru]

And while our current crop of young goalies shows promise they haven't proved anything at the NHL level

Only one of them has gotten a shot. I wouldn't rush Murashov. Plan on him being the guy next year at WBS, and maybe give him a few starts in the NHL to see where his progression is. If Murashov stays on track, he should be a backup or split start for 26-27 season.

Gauthier is an RFA this summer, and I wouldn't be surprised if he asks the Penguins to let him walk. He showed promise last year in the ECHL, but is blocked by better prospects at the AHL level, and that probably doesn't change next year. He needs a change of scenery.

I guess I'm coming around to the idea of drafting a goalie, but I would say every other year is probably better consistency. That way there is a bit of spacing between them. You've got about 2 years from draft to AHL, and you've got 2 years in the AHL to decide whether they are worth keeping and developing or drafting more new goalies.

Yeah Blomqvist showed he needs more development, is he going to get that in the AHL when Murashov is clearly ahead of them?

We have a log jam in the minors because none of them are NHL ready, if they fizzle at the NHL level you need more in the pipeline. If you draft a Russian goalie playing in the KHL is fine

[FLPensFan]

And while our current crop of young goalies shows promise they haven't proved anything at the NHL level

Only one of them has gotten a shot. I wouldn't rush Murashov. Plan on him being the guy next year at WBS, and maybe give him a few starts in the NHL to see where his progression is. If Murashov stays on track, he should be a backup or split start for 26-27 season.

Gauthier is an RFA this summer, and I wouldn't be surprised if he asks the Penguins to let him walk. He showed promise last year in the ECHL, but is blocked by better prospects at the AHL level, and that probably doesn't change next year. He needs a change of scenery.

I guess I'm coming around to the idea of drafting a goalie, but I would say every other year is probably better consistency. That way there is a bit of spacing between them. You've got about 2 years from draft to AHL, and you've got 2 years in the AHL to decide whether they are worth keeping and developing or drafting more new goalies.

Yeah Blomqvist showed he needs more development, is he going to get that in the AHL when Murashov is clearly ahead of them?

We have a log jam in the minors because none of them are NHL ready, if they fizzle at the NHL level you need more in the pipeline. If you draft a Russian goalie playing in the KHL is fine

It's not any of the goalies fault that they aren't ready. This is where they are and where they should be in the timeline. The 2 things that complicated matters is 1) Dubas signed Larsson, a then 25 y/o Europe UFA and 2) Murashov unexpectedly left Russia for North America. If neither of these happened, Blomqvist and Gauthier would have been the AHL starters, with a 3rd veteran goalie likely in the mix.

Not counting Larsson, Gauthier is the oldest and is getting the shortest end of the stick right now. He needs AHL starts. There's no development left for him in the ECHL. It's just going to take him longer to adjust to the AHL and NHL. He played 20 games for WBS in 22-23, and only 4 since.

[thehockeyguru]

And while our current crop of young goalies shows promise they haven't proved anything at the NHL level

Only one of them has gotten a shot. I wouldn't rush Murashov. Plan on him being the guy next year at WBS, and maybe give him a few starts in the NHL to see where his progression is. If Murashov stays on track, he should be a backup or split start for 26-27 season.

Gauthier is an RFA this summer, and I wouldn't be surprised if he asks the Penguins to let him walk. He showed promise last year in the ECHL, but is blocked by better prospects at the AHL level, and that probably doesn't change next year. He needs a change of scenery.

I guess I'm coming around to the idea of drafting a goalie, but I would say every other year is probably better consistency. That way there is a bit of spacing between them. You've got about 2 years from draft to AHL, and you've got 2 years in the AHL to decide whether they are worth keeping and developing or drafting more new goalies.

Yeah Blomqvist showed he needs more development, is he going to get that in the AHL when Murashov is clearly ahead of them?

We have a log jam in the minors because none of them are NHL ready, if they fizzle at the NHL level you need more in the pipeline. If you draft a Russian goalie playing in the KHL is fine

It's not any of the goalies fault that they aren't ready. This is where they are and where they should be in the timeline. The 2 things that complicated matters is 1) Dubas signed Larsson, a then 25 y/o Europe UFA and 2) Murashov unexpectedly left Russia for North America. If neither of these happened, Blomqvist and Gauthier would have been the AHL starters, with a 3rd veteran goalie likely in the mix.

Not counting Larsson, Gauthier is the oldest and is getting the shortest end of the stick right now. He needs AHL starts. There's no development left for him in the ECHL. It's just going to take him longer to adjust to the AHL and NHL. He played 20 games for WBS in 22-23, and only 4 since.

Totally agree it's not their fault, but looking back at the deadline maybe it made sense to move Ned and keep Blomqvist up as the backup.

[Daniel]

And while our current crop of young goalies shows promise they haven't proved anything at the NHL level

Only one of them has gotten a shot. I wouldn't rush Murashov. Plan on him being the guy next year at WBS, and maybe give him a few starts in the NHL to see where his progression is. If Murashov stays on track, he should be a backup or split start for 26-27 season.

Gauthier is an RFA this summer, and I wouldn't be surprised if he asks the Penguins to let him walk. He showed promise last year in the ECHL, but is blocked by better prospects at the AHL level, and that probably doesn't change next year. He needs a change of scenery.

I guess I'm coming around to the idea of drafting a goalie, but I would say every other year is probably better consistency. That way there is a bit of spacing between them. You've got about 2 years from draft to AHL, and you've got 2 years in the AHL to decide whether they are worth keeping and developing or drafting more new goalies.

Yeah Blomqvist showed he needs more development, is he going to get that in the AHL when Murashov is clearly ahead of them?

We have a log jam in the minors because none of them are NHL ready, if they fizzle at the NHL level you need more in the pipeline. If you draft a Russian goalie playing in the KHL is fine

They can draft a kid from Canadian juniors of high school and by the time he's 20 the logjam will have cleared itself.

[BigMcK]

Maybe before the list of young Penguins goalies term out / lose shelf life, one, two, three of them are bargaining chips in the draft? Jarry and Ned seem capable / ripe pickings for trade of a second or third round pick in return as backup players next season.

KD makes / breaks his legacy as GM with as much draft picks as he has at his disposal. Hextal / Burke set the bar of utter incompetence so freaking low that any breathing GM should be able to best.

[Michael74]

Realistic prospects we could possibly draft if we have two 1sts, say one 7 OA the other 14th OA, Desnoyers or Eklund and then maybe Brady Martin. I'd love to get O'Brien but doubt he'd last to 14th.

[BigMcK]

Maybe before the list of young Penguins goalies term out / lose shelf life, one, two, three of them are bargaining chips in the draft? Jarry and Ned seem capable / ripe pickings for trade of a second or third round pick in return as backup players next season.

KD makes / breaks his legacy as GM with as much draft picks as he has at his disposal. Hextal / Burke set the bar of utter incompetence so freaking low that any breathing GM should be able to best.

I figured one of our goalies would be cream and sugar to add to another teams coffee.