With the 14th overall selection in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins select…

[The Old Master]

Honestly. All drafts suck after about the top 5-10. Total crapshoot after that.

crap shoot ? Yes but there are lots of good players after that.

 

[Kasperi kapanen]

15th pick? We could be picking as high as 12-13 no?

yep if nashville and buffalo win out and we lose, we’d be picking 13th.

 

[The Old Master]

the 14th pick as of today.

Here are the odds.

never quote me the odds kid!

 

[Kasperi kapanen]

also to the people saying this draft falls off after top10, this is the best draft class since 2015 according to actual scouts and insiders lol. so any pick in that top15 range would be a damn good prospect.

 

[The Old Master]

also to the people saying this draft falls off after top10, this is the best draft class since 2015 according to actual scouts and insiders lol. so any pick in that top15 range would be a damn good prospect.55

13 would be better than 15

 

[BusinessGoose]

13 would be better than 15

4 would be better than 13

But i guess finishing 9th in the east was better than the tank from the TDL

 

[The Old Master]

4 would be better than 13

But i guess finishing 9th in the east was better than the tank from the TDL

that, i am not so sure.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Gulyayev would be my target. I have no idea why he’s not being discussed as a top 5 pick.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I don't really have any faith in this team's amateur scouting, so I'll just say I hope they take the consensus best player available. Hopefully this team jumps a few spots and lands in the top-10 and somebody highly rated ends up dropping, since that happens pretty much every draft.

But yeah, it's kind of disappointing that this team refused to accept the reality that this season was lost around the TDL to land a few more picks for expiring contracts. Probably wouldn't have made a difference in the long run because the draft is always a crapshoot, especially after the top-5, but it certainly had more potential than hanging on to guys like Zucker and Dumo for, at best, another 1st round embarrassment.

 

[Jacob]

I liked what I’ve seen in highlights of Quentin Musty while keeping tabs on Collins but a lot of rankings have him going more around 10-12.

Killorn kinda player. Just in style, don’t know if that’s his ceiling (may be higher).

Already has an NHL build and is a decent scorer in the O too and, being a winger and not C or D, maybe he’s a little closer to being NHL-ready.

 

[Wattsburgh]

Gulyayev would be my target. I have no idea why he’s not being discussed as a top 5 pick.

Mikhail Gulyayev​

•5’10” 170 SHOOTS Left offensive defenseman.. possesses an outstanding change of gear that he can display when given some open ice in the neutral zone.

Best trait: Skating

Projection around 10-20th overall.

I liked what I’ve seen in highlights of Quentin Musty while keeping tabs on Collins but a lot of rankings have him going more around 10-12.

Killorn kinda player. Just in style, don’t know if that’s his ceiling (may be higher).

Already has an NHL build and is a decent scorer in the O too and, being a winger and not C or D, maybe he’s a little closer to being NHL-ready.

the Musty and Rusty line.

 

[Freeptop]

I haven't been paying attention to draft eligible players at all this year - would anyone be willing to give any sort of scouting report on these players?

Gotta have _something_ to look forward to... (and then complain about afterwards!)

 

[Wattsburgh]

I haven't been paying attention to draft eligible players at all this year - would anyone be willing to give any sort of scouting report on these players?

Gotta have _something_ to look forward to... (and then complain about afterwards!)

I’ll be starting this weekend on a write-up of Penguins eligible draft players with traits, best fits (who they would get along with on the team and where), NHL past and present comparisons plus a Penguin comparison (to get to know the player better), and all the skills and training that come along with it here on HF. Thanks for the interest.

Basically just a simple comparison of all the players we could land.

 

[Jacob]

I haven't been paying attention to draft eligible players at all this year - would anyone be willing to give any sort of scouting report on these players?

Gotta have _something_ to look forward to... (and then complain about afterwards!)

I haven’t either, assumed we were either picking low or trading the pick.

Hopefully NHL Network shows Memorial Cup & replays the WJCs before the draft.

 

[Jacob]

Russians are gonna be iffy if they’re not KHL regulars, since they’re not allowed in the international tournaments. Tough to scout. That could allow someone to fall further than they should.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Drafting Russians means drafting with them like we did during the end of the Cold War Warsaw Pact players- you really need to be sure they’ll get out or be able to be smuggled out. And while players might fall you are also not getting great vantages on them or in-person scouting now.

Again if it’s a Jágr kind of situation where we have insider knowledge that the player is going to leave and is able to be gotten out, then we should take a player like that.

But remember how tough it was to get Malkin out? That was during peacetime and not during a new Cold War.

 

[Jacob]

Drafting Russians means drafting with them like we did during the end of the Cold War Warsaw Pact players- you really need to be sure they’ll get out or be able to be smuggled out. And while players might fall you are also not getting great vantages on them or in-person scouting now.

Again if it’s a Jágr kind of situation where we have insider knowledge that the player is going to leave and is able to be gotten out, then we should take a player like that.

But remember how tough it was to get Malkin out? That was during peacetime and not during a new Cold War.

Yeah my concern on top of just trying to figure out how to scout them is that everyone is on eggshells and there may be a small, but not insignificant, chance that the player, or his dad, or his girlfriend, or someone from the NHL club that owns his rights says something wrong or retweets the wrong thing and then you’re not gonna see him because they confiscate his passport or send him to the front or chain him to a radiator and make him sign an 8 year deal with SKA St. Petersburg.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Yeah my concern on top of just trying to figure out how to scout them is that everyone is on eggshells and there may be a small, but not insignificant, chance that the player, or his dad, or his girlfriend, or someone from the NHL club that owns his rights says something wrong or retweets the wrong thing and then you’re not gonna see him because they confiscate his passport or send him to the front.

Yep. That’s pretty much my fear too.

 

[Gurglesons]

Yep. That’s pretty much my fear too.

I'd still take Michkov if he drops to our spot if we don't win the lottery.

 

[Jacob]

I'd still take Michkov if he drops to our spot if we don't win the lottery.

I’d even trade up for him. Definitely worth some risk. Potential 1OA talent in a lot of other draft years.

 

[Gurglesons]

I’d even trade up for him. Definitely worth some risk. Potential 1OA talent in a lot of other draft years.

Also potential he never plays in the NHL!

 

[Wattsburgh]

With Malkin on the team it’s worth the risk to take Michkov. Even if he wasn’t it would be.

 

[HandshakeLine]

I'd still take Michkov if he drops to our spot if we don't win the lottery.

For sure.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

I don't f***ing care. They'll fine a way to f*** it up.

 

[BusinessGoose]

I don't f***ing care. They'll fine a way to f*** it up.

Also accurate