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Penguins Have Insane Number of NHL Draft Picks

The Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to the future with the NHL's largest selection of upcoming draft picks.

Nick Horwat

Jul 7, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CANADA; Owen Pickering after being selected as the number twenty-one overall pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Jul 7, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CANADA; Owen Pickering after being selected as the number twenty-one overall pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images / Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
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Even with two straight absences from the playoffs and a third on the way, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been hesitant to say they are in a rebuilding phase as an organization. With Sidney Crosby still on the roster and as competitive as ever, the Penguins really can’t wave the white flag as a team.

Despite not saying anything about a rebuild, the Penguins are clearly focusing on the future and their draft capital shows that. No team in the NHL has more draft picks over the next three drafts than the Penguins with 30.

Ever since Kyle Dubas took over as president and general manager, he’s made it clear on goal is to take one more run at the Stanley Cup with players like Crosby and Evgeni Malkin still around. Another main focus for Dubas is to build for the future and special attention is being given to the draft.

On top of the 30 total draft picks Dubas has accumulated, 18 of them come in the first three rounds over the next three drafts.

Having a ton of draft picks doesn’t guarantee your team will turn into contenders as those players reach the NHL, but it certainly boosts the expectations for the future. With 18 picks in the first three rounds over the next three years should at least mean the Penguins will see their prospect pool improve big time.

The Penguins had one of the league’s worst pipelines when Dubas accepted his job, and it’s already seen a huge turnaround.

Names like Owen Pickering, Rutger McGroarty, and Joel Blomqvist have already shown promise in the NHL. Their American Hockey League affiliate the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lead the entire AHL with 192 goals, with Ville Koivunen leading the prospects at 19 tallies.

Fresh faces to the system like Tristan Broz, Vasily Ponomarev, and Sergei Murashov all look like they have NHL potential, as well.

The Penguins might not be a flashy Stanley Cup contending team right now, but with more draft picks than anyone and a budding group of youngsters, they’ll be a team to watch iin the years to come.

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Nick Horwat
NICK HORWAT

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