The Penguins have only made two first round picks in now the last decade (Kasperi Kapanen in 2014 and Sam Poulin in 2019), which is now up to three after selecting defender Owen Pickering in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft on Thursday night in Montreal.
Newly re-signed Kris Letang made the pick with some flair in front of his hometown audience in Montreal to announce that the Pens had drafted the WHL defender.
We’ll have plenty more highlights and analysis of the player and what to expect moving forward, even though NHL draft picks are more of a longer-term proposition with no expectation of an immediate impact at the highest level.