Penguins Shake Up NHL Draft With Round 1 Trade

The Pittsburgh Penguins had made three first-round picks in a single NHL Draft just one time before Friday night.

The headliner that June was a lanky French-Canadian center named Mario Lemieux, who was joined later in the opening round by defenseman Doug Bodger and forward Roger Belanger.

Well, Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas, who began the evening with the Nos. 11 and 12 choices in Round 1, traded the latter of those to Philadelphia for the 22nd and 31st overall picks.

Barring any more deals as the draft progressed, Dubas was poised to claim two more prospects to go with center Benjamin Kindel, who had gone to the Penguins 11th overall.

The Flyers used the pick they acquired from the Penguins to secure the rights to center Jack Nesbitt.

The trade between the Penguins and Philadelphia was the first during the draft. Using the Perri Pick Calculator on Puckpedia.com, it would appear the Penguins got less than full value for their pick.

The 12th overall pick was worth 29.98 points, but the value they received was only 27.73.