It hasn’t happened since 2014, but the Pittsburgh Penguins have actually made a selection in the first round of an NHL draft. They selected Samuel Poulin. He is a left wing or center from the WHL. I don’t have very strong opinions about players I have never watched. The big issue I have with Poulin is the same one I would have with whoever the Penguins would have gone with at #21. The player isn’t going to be ready for a number of years, if at all. The chances of this kid playing a meaningful role for Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin is very slim. The entire focus should be on maximizing the closing window. As of right now this does nothing for that.

The Penguins didn’t break the majority of the draft rules laid out yesterday

Don’t fool yourself into thinking you are better at drafting than the other teams. You probably are not

Don’t draft a goalie early

If the first line in a scouting report for a player is about how good he is defensively, don’t take him

Don’t trade up unless you are taking a big swing at a franchise-changing player

Don’t overrate your coaching staff’s ability to dramatically change who a player was in college/juniors

If drafting a skater, make sure he was productive in college/juniors

Look to trade back. Identify GM’s who are trying to save their jobs and thinking short term

Poulin wasn’t taken way outside of his draft range. He isn’t a goalie. He isn’t being sold as a defensive first player. He definitely has an offensive pulse as he was over a point per game this year on his team. The Penguins didn’t trade up for him. The team didn’t trade back, but given the names still left I’m not really sure anybody wanted to trade up.




The only rule they might break is the overrating your coaching staff’s ability to dramatically change who a player was in college/juniors

Poulin said he's 2-3 years away from playing in the NHL. "To get stronger and faster." Added he want to work on his skating. -SK

— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) June 22, 2019

That last part makes me squeamish. I’m not looking forward to every summer when random fans go to the prospect camps to declare Poulin must have worked on his skating this year, he looks faster. That Olli Maatta song and dance each year was always cringe inducing. Going in knowing a player’s skating is a weakness and believing you can markedly improve it usually doesn’t work out.

All in all Pittsburgh avoided some of the glaring mistakes a team can make when drafting in the first round. The pick may be fine down the road, but it isn’t going to help the most important time frame which is right now.

Some thoughts on the other teams.

The first two picks were obvious, but then Chicago threw a curveball selecting Kirby Dach. This allowed the Avalanche to get the defenseman they coveted (Bowen Byram) and will give them wiggle room to make a Tyson Barrie trade that they seemed destined to make.

Then we got to Steve Yzerman and the Detroit Red Wings. They were very unlucky to fall to the sixth position in the draft lottery. They certainly didn’t make things any easier on themselves. They took Moritz Seider who was way off the board. He is a defenseman with no offensive pulse playing in a German league. They could have easily traded down, gained some extra picks, and still got their defensive defenseman. This pick has a Jon Gruden feel to it and that isn’t a compliment.

Ken Holland followed suit with the Oilers taking Philip Broberg. Another defenseman with no offensive pulse. He had 2 goals and nine points in 41 games. This is a very Oilers pick.

John Chayka gets labeled being an analytics general manager because they supposedly track a lot of data. It doesn’t mean he uses it or is good at using it. The Coyotes traded up to get a player that likely would have fallen to them anyways in Victor Soderstrom. Perhaps they were nervous on the run of defenseman who haven’t shown the ability to produce points. The Coyotes panic turned into the Flyers gain. They not only moved back to #14 overall from #11, but they actually took a defenseman (Cameron York) who does have an offensive pulse.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Dale Tallon would break a draft rule and one that is easy to avoid. He couldn’t resist the temptation of taking goaltender Spencer Knight at #13 overall. The Panthers are the rumored front runners to land Sergei Bobrovsky in free agency so their top goaltending prospect can sit around for numbers of years waiting for his turn. Reminder that players don't need years and years of "seasoning" before they jump to the NHL. If you are taking a goalie at #13 you should expect that goalie to show up to make a difference in the near future ala Carter Hart. Taking a goalie in round one isn’t usually a great idea. Going out of your way to take one when you know you’re about to commit long term to a pricey veteran makes the decision even more weird.

The Stars drafted Thomas Harley with their pick. The only reason this is notable is because their owner went to the podium and said the name Harley Thomas. Part of me thinks the Stars should be held to taking some random kid playing out his last year of travel hockey named Harley Thomas.

Don’t look for the Penguins to be active today. They don’t have a second or a third round pick this year. They have a fourth, fifth, and two seventh round picks.

Thanks for reading!

Join the Discussion: » 131 Comments » Post New Comment

» It's their fault

» Still alive, for now

» Going to need some help now

» Penguins giveth Penguins taketh away

» Now or never