Updated 2025 Penguins Draft Picks; Extra First-Rounder Teetering

The Pittsburgh Penguins players did not get the memo that losing was good and have instead won three straight games, pushing their draft stock lower in the first round, by at least one spot and putting distance between themselves and a coveted top-five pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

The Penguins have “ascended” to the seventh overall pick, whereas when last weekend began, they were close to achieving the fifth overall selection. However, the sixth overall pick currently belongs to Anaheim which is one point behind the Penguins with a whopping three games in hand. So, the Penguins should still have the sixth pick.

It would seem there is a separation in the draft between the top-six picks and the rest of the class. Sportsnet’s Jason Bakula published his Scout’s Analysis of the class, and a first-line forward can be had as late as No. 6 (Anton Frondell), so perhaps that’s the line.

Of course, if the Penguins win a few more games, we’ll start to focus on the raw talent available from 7 to 10 (Victor Eklund, Carter Bear).

Before we begin the draft class analysis, it would behoove us to lay out the Penguins’ chessboard.

The Penguins own the Washington Capitals’ second rounder courtesy of trading Anthony Beauvillier, but not their own pick which–brace yourselves–was given to the Montreal Canadiens to hold Jeff Petry’s salary as part of the Erik Karlsson trade on Aug. 6, 2023.

The Penguins have a truckload of draft picks over the next three years, the most in the NHL. They have 30 picks over the next three drafts, including 18 in the first three rounds.

In 2025, they’re guaranteed a first, second, and three third-round selections. What’s interesting is that they also own the New York Rangers’ first-round choice via the Marcus Pettersson/Drew O’Connor trade with the Vancouver Canucks, but the pick is top-13 protected (and owned by Vancouver).

The Rangers have a pair of excellent centers (Mika Zbinejad and J.T. Miller), an all-world winger (Artemi Panarin), a Norris Trophy-winning defenseman (Adam Fox), and perhaps the best goalie on the planet (Igor Shesterkin), but they lack wins.

Despite acquiring Miller before the NHL trade deadline, the Rangers have everything but enough points to make the playoffs. They’re currently the first team outside the playoff seeds, but they have only the 10th-best winning percentage in the Eastern Conference and the 19th-best in the NHL.

If the draft were held today, based on winning percentage, the Rangers would keep the pick because it would be 13th overall.

Both Montreal and Utah have a .01 superior winning percentage, which means both are one point behind with one game in hand.

St. Louis and Detroit also control their ability to pass New York.

If either St. Louis wins one more game than the Rangers over the final 16 games, they, too, would be ahead. Detroit has a game in hand and trails by two points, meaning Detroit needs to win its extra game and earn just one more point than the Rangers over its final 17 games.

So, there are two teams slightly ahead of New York, pushing them down to 13th, and two more teams with an easy chance to pass the Rangers (none own the first tiebreaker with New York).

If just two of the four teams pass or remain ahead of the Rangers, without another team falling below them, the Rangers would keep their first-rounder because they’d be 13th overall.

The odds posit the Rangers will keep the pick, but should Penguins fans root for the 2025 pick in the mid-round or gamble on 2026?

The 2026 draft class is generally projected to be stronger and deeper than the 2025 class, but one should not expect the Rangers to continue sputtering next season. Or should we?

It would seem the 2025-26 Rangers could be anything from a lottery pick to the Stanley Cup champions.

So, here it is, based on winning percentage. 

Current Penguins Draft Slots

First Round

1) No. 6 Overall.

Rangers pick punted to an unprotected pick in 2026.

Second Round

2) Range, No. 56-64 pending the Washington Capitals playoff result.

Washington is tied with Winnipeg for the best winning percentage in the NHL. The Capitals figure to be no worse than the second-best winning percentage in the NHL, which means a Round One loss would yield, at best, the 24th draft slot.

Third Round, Three Picks

3) 70th overall

4) 82nd overall (Acquired from St. Louis as the extra pick to swap second-round picks with St. Louis following the Hayes trade. Pick originally belonged to Ottawa, which has the 14th best winning percentage)

5) 84th overall (Pick acquired for accepting Cody Glass from Nashville. Selection originally belonged to Minnesota, which has the 12th best winning percentage)