Pittsburgh makes their first pick of the third round
The Penguins used the first of their three third round draft picks at the 2025 NHL draft on Saturday and selected defender Charlie Trethewey with the 73rd overall pick.
Charlie Trethewey of the @USAHockeyNTDP sits down with Sam Cosentino to talk #NHLDraft, who he models his game after, and more! pic.twitter.com/YLkzl5JwvL
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) June 23, 2025
He’s got local ties with a father from Mt. Lebanon, Trethewey eventually made his way to Pittsburgh Penguins Elite system from 2020-22 before moving onto the vaunted US National Development team.
Hey, I wrote this a ways back: https://t.co/ukHKy6j79S #Pens
— Wes Crosby (@OtherNHLCrosby) June 28, 2025
The 17-year-old right-shot defenseman looks up Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy.
“I think Charlie’s definitely the main guy, for sure,” Trethewey said. “He’s just a great guy. I even model myself after (him), I want to be a person like him.”
Trethewey got a first-hand account this summer, training with McAvoy at Boston University. In his second season with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, he wants to incorporate McAvoy’s lessons ahead of the 2025 NHL Draft in June.
“He’s a great person. I definitely think his play is a lot like mine,” Trethewey said. “He’s definitely a guy that I look up to. … It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I definitely look back on it and just really appreciate the conversations, him taking his time to work out with me and talk through some things with me. It was a great memory, for sure.”
McAvoy, who played two seasons with the NTDP (2013-15), has 284 points (56 goals, 228 assists) in 477 games since being selected by the Bruins in the first round (No. 14) of the 2016 NHL Draft. He has seven points (three goals, four assists) in 23 games this season.
Trethewey (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) is a right-handed shot and has a similar build to McAvoy (6-1, 213), but that’s not where the comparisons end.
“They both have great shots,” NTDP coach Greg Moore said. “A lot of using their skating to defend plays up ice, their gaps. It’s definitely a player that we’ve targeted for him to watch and study, model his game after.”
Growing defensively is key.
“Shutting down plays, taking time and space away from really good players,” Trethewey said. “If you give them time and space, they’ll take advantage of it.”
Trethewey is fairly well-regarded in the draft analytic community. He was expected to be selected perhaps even a little higher than 73. From Elite Prospects:
Trethewey brings explosive mobility, shooting, and physicality. He matches fast attackers of the rush, then flattens them with a big hit. His head is on a swivel defensively, and he constantly plays inside contact around his net, getting underneath sticks, and pushing opponents out of his goaltender’s sightline.
Charlie Trethewey is picked 73rd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins! pic.twitter.com/wdEMGoLoDC
— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) June 28, 2025
The Pittsburgh Penguins have selected Charlie Trethewey at 73rd overall. I ranked him #51.
My model loved him last year but after a decrease in production, it’s still a fan but not as much as before.#GoPensGo pic.twitter.com/x4pN63ZgKn
— Nick (@nickiacoban) June 28, 2025
Trethewey fits the profile of what Kyle Dubas and the Pens like: right shot defender, US National Team, good size, strong analytic profile. Can never have too many of those types of players and the Pens love to collect them, since Pittsburgh’s first pick of the day was a similar profile in WHL defender Peyton Kettles.