Dec 16th 2024
It is clear that Kyle Dubas is focused building for the future while trying to keep the Penguins competitive. Dubas has made several trades acquiring draft picks and prospects.
The Penguins have done a great job stacking up draft picks in the first 3 rounds for the next 3 years. Some of the best prospects in the Penguins pipeline have been drafted in the 2nd round (Ponomarev, Brunicke, Koivunen, Howe, Borz). If the Penguins continue to focus on obtaining draft picks, the transition towards a rebuild will be smoother. Rebuilds are never guaranteed to work but obtaining multiple picks increases your chance of finding some gems.
The likelihood that a player will play over 100 NHL games in his career is linked to their draft position. 37% of 1st round picks play over 100 games. 17% of the 2nd round and 13% in the 3rd round. If the Pens are able to hit on a couple of their 2nd and 3rd round picks, it would provide them with some decent players. Kris Letang was a 3rd round pick back in 2005 and he became a core member of the Penguins. Bryant Rust was also a 3rd round pick back in 2010. There is a lot of potential in those 2nd and 3rd round picks. You can find some real gems there.
In addition to trading for draft picks, GMKD has been adamant about acquiring younger players. Earlier this season GM Dubas traded for Philip Tomasino a 23 year old Forward who can play center and wing. Tomasino has 1 points in 11 games played with the Nashville Predators this year before being traded. He has been a great addition to the pens. The 23 year old forward has 4 points (3 goals and 1 assist) in 9 games with the Penguins. Dubas has been getting the Penguins younger legs to help the core. Dubas has also traded for 25 year old P.O. Joseph who’s a familiar face coming back to Pittsburgh. Joseph was let go in free agency after the Penguins didn’t qualify him this past offseason.
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