Penguins draft big, right-shooting D Peyton Kettles after trading into 2nd round
The Pittsburgh Penguins entered Day 2 of the 2025 NHL Draft on Saturday without a second-round selection as a result of a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night.
But general manager Kyle Dubas swung another trade, this time with the Buffalo Sabres, to acquire the No. 39 overall pick in the draft, as well as 30-year-old blue liner Connor Clifton, in exchange for fellow NHL defenseman Conor Timmins and prospect Isaac Belliveau.
With that 39th pick, the seventh selection of the second round, Dubas and the Penguins chose defenseman Peyton Kettles of the Western Hockey League’s Swift Current Broncos.
Kettles, 17, is a 6-foot-6, 194-pound prospect from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
A right-handed shot, Kettles played 53 games for the Broncos last season, scoring five goals with nine assists.
In 2023-24, he appeared in 61 games, contributing two goals with 11 assists.
Kettles represented Canada at the Hlikna Gretzky Cup, winning a gold medal.
Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. A Pittsburgh native, he is a Central Catholic and University of Colorado graduate. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at jguerriero@triblive.com.
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