Penguins make 13 draft picks, multiple trades during 2025 NHL Draft
The 2025 NHL Draft wrapped up on Saturday evening, and the Pittsburgh Penguins were quite busy on both days.
In total, the Penguins made 13 draft picks, as well as made a few trades during the entry draft that took place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Going into the first round on Friday night, the Penguins originally had back-to-back picks at 11th and 12th overall, but ultimately chose to trade the 12th overall pick to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for the 22nd and 31st overall picks.
The Penguins also traded defensemen Conor Timmins and Issac Belliveau to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for defenseman Connor Clifton and the 39th overall pick.
Penguins make three first-round picks
For the first time since 1984, the Penguins made three selections in the first round.
The Penguins chose forward Benjamin Kindel from the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL 11th overall. The 18-year-old Kindel registered career highs across the board in the 2024-25 season, scoring 35 goals, 64 assists, and 99 points. Those 99 points were second on his team and seventh-best in the WHL. In the playoffs, Kindel continued to produce, scoring eight goals and seven assists in 11 games.
Originally, the Penguins were scheduled to have back-to-back picks in round one, but President of Hockey Operations Kyle Dubas made the decision to trade the 12th overall pick to the Flyers in exchange for the 22nd and 31st overall picks.
Then, the Penguins would trade the 31st overall pick and the 59th overall pick to the Los Angeles Kings for the 24th overall pick.
With those two picks in the first round, the Penguins chose forwards Bill Zonnon 22nd overall and Will Horcoff 24th overall.
Zonnon spent the 2024-25 season with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the QMJHL, and like Kindel, posted career highs. He scored 28 goals, 55 assists, and 83 points.
In total, the 6'2", 185-pound forward scored 62 goals, 118 assists, and 180 points across three seasons in QMJHL.
To close out the first round, the Penguins selected forward Will Horcoff 24th overall. The son of former NHLer Shawn Horcoff split the 2024-25 season between the USA National Team Development Program and the University of Michigan.
He played 28 games with the NTDP and scored 14 points, then with Michigan, he scored 10 points in 18 games at the NCAA level.
Wheeling and dealing in the second round, the Penguins make 10 picks
Day two of the NHL Draft for the Penguins began with a trade.
The Penguins sent defensemen Conor Timmins and Issac Belliveau to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for defenseman Connor Clifton and the 39th overall pick (7th pick in the second round), and with the pick, they selected defenseman Peyton Kettles.
There were plenty of Pittsburgh connections for the team's picks on the second day.
Kettles, in his pre-draft interview, said the first NHL jersey he ever owned was an Evgeni Malkin jersey. He also played junior hockey with current Penguins' prospect Owen Pickering.
"I have a really good relationship with Owen," Kettles said. "Started my Western League career with him, and we were D partners for a long time, so definitely happy to reunite with him."
With the 73rd overall pick, the Penguins selected defenseman Charlie Trehewey, who spent several years in the Pittsburgh area. At age 13, Trehewey moved to Pittsburgh to play for the Penguins Elite program.
"Obviously, having a lot of family in the area, went down for Sunday dinners and stuff like that down in Mt. Lebanon when I was with Pens Elite," Charlie said. "I'm going to be so close to a lot of family, and I just can't wait to get started."
Another fun Penguins connection came in the form of the 84th overall pick when they selected goaltender Gabriel D'Aigle. D'Aigle is a native of Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, the same hometown as former Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. During the offseason, D'Aigle and Fleury work with the same goaltending coach.
After selecting D'Aigle 84th overall, the Penguins made seven more picks: forward Brady Peddle (91st overall), forward Travis Hayes (105th overall), forward Ryan Miller (130th overall), defenseman Quinn Beauchesne (148th overall), forward Jordan Charron (154th overall), Carter Sanderson (169th overall), and forward Kale Dach (201st overall).
There won't be a lot of time to rest for the Penguins and their new draft picks as they will host prospect development camp next week at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex from July 3 until July 7.
