The NHL Draft gets underway tonight in Los Angeles, and the Penguins are right in the middle of the action, with two picks in the first round and nine more in rounds two through seven tomorrow. How many of those picks they use and how many they trade is one of the biggest questions being asked around the NHL.
They hold the 11th and 12th overall selections tonight, but they are reportedly trying to use one or both of those picks to move up in the draft and take a more highly-rated player. The Pens also hold one pick in the second round, three in the third, one in the fourth, two in the fifth, and single picks in the sixth and seventh rounds.
The NHL will use a unique “decentralized” format for the draft, with the players all gathered at the L.A. Live Peacock Theater and the teams staying home at their headquarters. Each draft choice will join their team electronically. The Penguins are remodeling their headquarters in Cranberry, so they will be drafting from their temporary headquarters in the historic Roberts Building in downtown Pittsburgh.
Canadian defenseman Matthew Schaefer is expected to go number one in the draft to the New York Islanders.
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