Penguins Pick 11th; Five Players Who Could Be Available, One Wild Card

In the final days of the NHL regular season, the Pittsburgh Penguins could have fallen to the sixth-worst record in the NHL. However, their gallant stars and bubbling rookies mounted a little charge, stacking wins and climbing in the standings.

Of course, the Penguins couldn’t go anywhere meaningful in the standings, but there was a good case to be made for instilling a winning culture and a room that does not quit.

A few weeks later, the team fired coach Mike Sullivan for overall poor performance and an unconfirmed disagreement with the rebuild timeline. All the Penguins that have to show for their hard work late in the season are a little bit of bad luck and a coaching vacancy.

Monday, the Penguins had worse luck in the NHL Draft Lottery than grandma and her rusty quarter knocking off a dozen scratchers.

The worst possible scenario unfolded in the lottery as division rival and their traditional tormentor, the New York Islanders, won from the 10th position, shoving the Penguins back one spot to 10th. However, the fun wasn’t over as the Utah Hockey Club won the second lottery for the No. 2 pick. Since Utah was 14th, they could only advance to fourth overall, but their win slipped the Penguins back yet another spot to 11th.

And this offseason is off to a hot start.

The Penguins also own the New York Rangers’ first-round pick this season (top 13 protected) or in 2026 (unprotected). In keeping with their season-long theme, the Rangers also won nothing Monday and slipped to 12th overall.

New York has until June 25 to decide if they will keep that 12th overall pick or gamble that new coach Mike Sullivan can rally the troops for a much better finish next season and give the Penguins a much lower draft pick than 12th.

Based on scouting projections about the talent level in the draft class, there could be a canyon of difference between No. 6 and No. 11. This season, there could even be a big difference between No. 9 and No. 11.

The plausible chance to snag one of the Swedish teammates, Anton Frondell or Victor Eklund, probably vanished when Utah got their nameless hands on the second lottery win, jumping up from 14th to the fourth overall pick, and the Penguins slipped a second spot.

Nope, the Penguins no longer have a top-10 pick.

Since Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas has said on multiple occasions that he would like to improve the organization at center and defense, we’re going to focus on players in those positions.

Potential Penguins Picks

Roger McQueen, C

He’s likely the only true potential top-line center who could fall to the Penguins at 11.

He appeared on PHN’s preliminary Penguins draft shortlist and fits Dubas’s hope to bolster the organization’s depth at center. The short of McQueen’s sales pitch is that he’s a big (6-foot-5), quick, and an elite offensive center. The buyer beware tag regards the back injury that cost him most of this season.

McQueen has that special combination of vision and soft hands with a towering frame. He was to be the pillar of the Team Canada U18 World Juniors team until his injury.

If the Penguins believe he’s healthy, they could snag a player with No. 1 center potential despite losing a top-10 pick. At worst, McQueen projects as a No. 2. He’s not Evgeni Malkin, but there are strong Tage Thompson correlations.

Because of that serious back injury, he only played 17 games this season, scoring 10 goals and registering 10 assists. The Penguins, or any team, can work with his stiff-legged skating habit. If the team can help Rutger McGroarty, Tristan Broz, and others can pick up a step, McQueen might pick up two.

He’s already got enough speed to roast defensemen in Juniors. With another step, he would be dangerous from the edge at the NHL level, too.

McQueen was a potential top-five pick, but after a mostly lost season, Bob McKenzie ranked him eighth overall. Other boards have him as low as 17. He’s a potential game changer, and if he’s healthy and available, the Penguins can’t pass him up. Watch his deceptive release, quick steps, and knack for using his size to shield the puck from defenders and shoot where the goalie isn’t.

McQueen also has six fights to his credit. This is the guy to want:

Radim Mrtka, D

There is a good chance the towering right-handed Czech defenseman is on the board when the Penguins pick. On almost all major amateur scouting boards, he ranks 11-14. He’s also the second-highest ranked defenseman on most boards, behind only Matthew Schaefer, who many feel will go first overall.

Mrtka is 6-foot-6, 207 pounds. He had 35 points, but just three goals in 43 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL. The conglomeration of amateur scouting touts smooth skating and a high defensive-zone awareness. Because he’s playing with a small tree for a stick, he can defend the rush well and take away passing lanes.

Smaht Scouting wrote, “With the puck, he does just about everything you’d want out of a modern defenceman. His defending on the rush is excellent; he closes gaps very well, has good edgework that lends itself to strong lateral mobility, and uses his reach effectively.”

Jake O’Brien, C

The Brantford Bulldog is a slick center. His draft rankings are on the high side for the Penguins. He generally ranks from seventh to 12. Some outliers have him in the top five, and others have him 15th or worse, but generally, he could be there at No. 11.

O’Brien is a two-way right-handed center who knows how to protect the puck and play in the low zone. That should be music to the Penguins’ ears. His scouting reports read pretty similar to Brayden Yager’s. O’Brien is 6-foot-2, 175 pounds with a high hockey IQ, defensive conscience, quick release, and leadership qualities.

And just like Yager, he gets too selfless with the puck, and multiple scouts have panned his bent skating style. He’s not slow, but the skating mechanics will need some work. He also lost 51% of his faceoffs this season.

O’Brien will need some work in the gym and with the skating coach, but the hands, brains, and heart are there.

And, tangential evidence suggests the Penguins have been watching O’Brien. On April 28, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins signed O’Brien’s teammate Tommy Budnick.

Jackson Smith, D

Former Penguins forward and current Tri-Cities (WHL) coach Stu Barnes described the left-handed defenseman thusly:

“He’s a big guy who’s a very good skater, good on his edges, very elusive for his size, and is able to skate the puck out of the defensive zone, out of trouble, and then transport it down the ice and be very effective offensively,” Barnes said to the league website.

Smith has a projectable size at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds. He ranks between ninth and 13th, so there’s a good chance he will be available.

Brady Martin, C

Dubas and his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie are deeply connected. So, the Soo Greyhounds’ sturdy center with some offensive upside might be attractive. He’s a safe pick that probably plays in the NHL sooner rather than later because his defensive game is on point, and he plays with some physicality.

Scouts project him as a middle-six center who could reach 20 goals, which seems like a low ceiling. Usually, such a prognosis means he’s a third-line center with 15-goal chops. It wouldn’t be a bad pick.

In the very first Sportsnet mock draft following the Lottery, they linked Martin and the Penguins.

He generally ranks 12-19 on the boards.

Russian Wild Card