Who could be around for the Penguins to pick at No. 11?
Now that the first round order is set for the NHL’s upcoming draft, it’s officially mock draft season. The first ones are trickling in. The Penguins got bumped down two places, as several teams did which might need to adjust the areas that they’ll be picking.
It doesn’t have to mean total despair. Our good, close, personal friend Jesse Marshall — who likely spends way more time and brainpower on draftable players than you or I — doesn’t see much of a difference in the shelf of players from the 6-14 range. There’s a downside of picking 11 instead of nine for margin of error and losing the choice of a couple of players, but the Pens should still be adding a very nice prospect, to a prospect pool that has no top-10ish pedigree players in it. (Apologies to Rutger McGroarty, drafted 14th three years ago).
Back to subject, let’s check out some mock drafts:
No. 11: Pittsburgh Penguins – Brady Martin, C, 6-feet, 178 pounds, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
The Sault Ste. Marie ties are still strong for Penguins GM Kyle Dubas and Martin is coming off a brilliant U18 gold-medal performance. His average size also fits the profile of what Dubas and Co. have done previously.
Martin is benefiting from a wonderful U-18 tournament where scored 11 points in seven games that is helping his draft stock to skyrocket. A few weeks or months ago, Martin was looking like a draft pick in the 12-15 range. At this point he might have opened up enough eyes to sneak into the back-half of the top-10 due to his surge.
Given the mutual ties with Kyle Dubas to the Soo, it will be a natural connection and possibility for Pittsburgh. If Martin makes it that far. This is where falling to the 11th pick from the ninth draft spot hurts, the odds of having Martin available at nine would be pretty darn good. Him still being on the board at 11? Not as high.
Notable other players still available at 11 in this mock: Victor Eklund, Kashawn Aitcheson
11. Pittsburgh Penguins: Jackson Smith, LHD, Tri-City (WHL)
Kyle Dubas recently acknowledged that the left side of his team’s blue line is a mess. Thus, Jackson strikes me as a perfect pick for the Penguins in this spot. He projects as a top-four defenseman who will produce plenty of offense and perhaps be a legitimate power-play quarterback. At 6-foot-3, he’s also a big and fairly physical player who can impact a game in numerous ways.
A lot of the pre-draft rankings are extremely heavy on forwards in the top-10. After Matthew Schaefer gets his No. 1. ranking, many a scouting service will have their 2-10 top prospects all being forwards as best available. Given NHL tendencies, defensemen aren’t getting shutout of the top-10 from picks 2-10 on draft night. Look for defenders like Radim Mrtka and possibly Smith to be taken off the board by the time the Pens pick.
That ultimately leads to a win/win situation. Teams in the back-half of the top-10 will either over-draft defensemen and leave a quality forward on the board at 11 (like Victor Eklund in this example) or if they don’t it means the Pens could get the LD2 in the draft if Smith doesn’t go high. Picking 11th means losing the rights to make that decision, but the Pens are sitting in a spot where a talented player falls in their lap and is easy to select at this point of the draft.
Notable other players still available at 11 in this mock: Victor Eklund, Kashawn Aitcheson
NHL.com mock draft
11. Pittsburgh Penguins
Kimelman — Jackson Smith, D, Tri-City (WHL): As the Penguins look to transition to younger, more athletic players up and down the lineup, Smith could be the right player for them in this spot. The left-shot defenseman has NHL-ready size (6-3, 195), skates well enough to be a one-man breakout and can make a smart first pass out of the zone. Smith, who turns 18 on May 13, had 54 points (11 goals, 43 assists) in 68 games this season.
Morreale — Brady Martin, C, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL): The right-handed shot (6-0, 178) complements a power-forward style with a great work ethic and intelligence in the offensive zone. Martin relishes play in the trenches and is the type of player who will make an impact in clutch situations. The 18-year-old had 72 points (33 goals, 39 assists), eight power-play goals, and three short-handed goals in 57 games.
Two picks from two different writers on the league’s main website, and fittingly enough it’s the same names we see from other websites.
11. Pittsburgh Penguins: Victor Eklund, RW, Djugårdens
Eklund for a good chunk of this season was outplaying Frondell. He’s a dynamic playmaking winger who isn’t afraid to get his nose dirty despite a slighter frame at 5-11, 161. He did, however, play all season against men and was a big part of Sweden’s World Junior team. There’s good upside there for a system that needs pretty much everything right now.
Only mocked the top-10, so we don’t have a Pittsburgh selection, but it can be known who is on the board for the Pens to consider at 11.
Notable other players still available at 11 in this mock: Brady Martin, Jackson Smith, Kashawn Aitcheson
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Overall, it’s not difficult to see some patterns developing that repeatedly draw the names of Brady Martin, Jackson Smith and Victor Eklund up quite a bit in and around the area of the Pens’ 11th overall pick from all the different sources and mock drafts. Usually these mocks are showing that one, maybe two, of those names are already selected in the top-10, though which specific one rotates. Pittsburgh then has leftovers with the other names often popping up.
The real event is still over seven weeks away which gives plenty more time in the process for more combinations to be considered.