For the second year in a row, the Pittsburgh Penguins traded a piece from their 2009 Stanley Cup team for a draft pick.
While the drama of dealing Jordan Staal for Carolina’s 8th overall pick was lacking, the Penguins were able to acquire the 50th overall selection after sending the rights to Tyler Kennedy to San Jose. The Penguins moved up to the 44th pick after trading their 50th pick and 89th pick to Columbus.
With their first selection, the Penguins took Tristan Jarry, a goaltender from the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League. Jarry split time with Laurent Brossoit in Edmonton, earning an 18-7 record while posting a 1.61 GAA, a .936 save percentage and six shutouts.
The 18 year old netminder was named Team Cherry player of the game, stopping all sixteen shots in the CHL Top Prospects game.
Pittsburgh spent their next five draft picks on college-bound players, including three centers and two defensemen.
Center Jake Guentzel was selected with the 77th pick. A USHL player from Souix City, Guentzel tallied 73 points in 60 games with the Musketeers. The USHL rookie of the year will attend the University of Nebraska-Omaha in the fall.
Ryan Segalla was selected in the fourth round out of Salisbury Connecticut. Segalla will attend the University of Connecticut, looking to improve his success on the blue line.
Pittsburgh’s next selection came in the sixth round. With the 164th pick, the Penguins took Dane Birks. At 6’3, 190 pounds, Birks has room to fill out his frame at Michigan Tech.
With their second pick in the sixth round, the Penguins took another center, Blaine Byron. The future University of Maine product was a third All-Star selection out of the CCHL in Smith Falls, Ontario.
The Penguins wrapped up their draft with the selection of Troy Josephs in the seventh round. Josephs, also a native of Ontario, will be attending Clarkson University.
For the most part, size was clearly not on the mind of Ray Shero in this draft. Of the three centers taken, Josephs is the biggest at 6’0, 180 pounds with Guentzel and Byron at 5’9 and 5’11, respectively.
Photo courtesy of Hockey House
