Penguins Draft Recap

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Penguins were very active in the NHL Trade. They had a first round pick, but they traded it to the St. Louis Blues and Oskar Sundqvist for Ryan Reaves and a second-round pick.

With the second round pick they received, Pittsburgh drafted defenseman Zachary Lauzon. He won the Kevin Lowe Trophy as the best defenseman in the QMJHL last season. He is a physical player, but Lauzon is a possible reach though. Lauzon is only 18 years old and has room to develop.

In the third-round, they drafted another defenseman in Clayton Phillips. He is a very solid puck mover. Phillips won't play at the University of Minnesota until the 2018-2019 season.

This is a defenseman Pittsburgh could use though, but he probably won't be there for a while. He scored 7 goals and had 13 assists in 56 games in the USHL this past season.

In the fifth-round they drafted two forwards: Jan Drozg and Linus Olund. Drozg has solid offensive skill and has higher up side and he is only 18 years old. Olund is average but he is already 20 years old.

In the sixth-round they drafted another defenseman Antti Palojarvi and in the seventh-round, they drafted defenseman William Reilly. Those guys need more time to develop.

They once again focused on defenseman in this draft which is a good thing. The p[roblem is none of these guys can contribute right away.