Penguins learn they'll pick 21st in June's NHL draft
Barring something unforeseen, in less than two months, the Pittsburgh Penguins will be making a first-round pick in the NHL draft for the first time since 2014.
On Wednesday night, they found out they’ll be picking 21st overall.
When the NHL sets its draft order, it determines the first 15 slots via lottery, and the last four picks are reserved for the conference finalists. When San Jose beat Colorado on Wednesday night, the Sharks joined the St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes in the final four.
From there, slots 16-27 are determined in reverse order of record in the regular season. The Penguins had the seventh-best record of playoff teams not in the final four, which leaves them in the 21st slot.
The draft is set for June 21-22 in Vancouver.
The last time the Penguins made a first-round pick, they took Kasperi Kapanen 22nd overall in 2014.
The next four years, they traded away their top choice in deals that netted David Perron, Phil Kessel, Ryan Reaves and Derick Brassard.
2019 NHL first-round draft order
- New Jersey Devils
- New York Rangers
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Colorado Avalanche (from Ottawa Senators)
- Los Angeles Kings
- Detroit Red Wings
- Buffalo Sabres
- Edmonton Oilers
- Anaheim Ducks
- Vancouver Canucks
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Minnesota Wild
- Florida Panthers
- Arizona Coyotes
- Montreal Canadiens
- Colorado Avalanche
- Vegas Golden Knights
- Dallas Stars
- Ottawa Senators (from Columbus Blue Jackets)
- New York Rangers (from Winnipeg Jets)
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Los Angeles Kings (from Toronto Maple Leafs)
- New York Islanders
- Nashville Predators
- Washington Capitals
- Calgary Flames
- Tampa Bay Lightning
- Conference final losing team with fewest points
- Conference final losing team with most points
- Stanley Cup Final losing team
- Stanley Cup winner
Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.
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