All In The Family: Penguins 2009 NHL Entry Draft Recap

It's a good thing Mario Lemieux's son Austin wasn't eligible for this year's NHL entry draft.



If he was, and what the Pittsburgh Penguins did yesterday was any indication, Pittsburgh surely would have taken him, and the buzz that would have ensued might have stolen the show from the hometown Habitants.



As it was, the Penguins had to settle for drafting two other young prospects with bloodline connections to their franchise past.



Those selections -- Philip Sameulsson, son of current Phoenix Coyotes Assistant Coach but also former Penguin defenseman, 2-time Pittsburgh Stanley Cup winner and team Hall of Fame member Ulf Samuelsson, and Andy Bathgate, grandson of the Penguin star and NHL Hall of Famer of the same name from the late 1960's and early 1970's -- were picked on day 2 yesterday in the 2nd and 5th rounds, respectively.



But more on them in a bit. The Penguins did have a first round pick to speak of.



In round 1 on Friday night, at 30th overall, the Penguins picked the skater that was ranked as the 8th best North American player available -- Simon Despres.



Despres, a defenseman with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior League, is nearly 6' 4", 205 lbs, and had 2 goals and 30 assists in 66 games last season. While generally regarded as a defenseive defenseman, Despres has some two-way potential in his game.



Despres is a good skater and can move the puck well. Pens' Director of Scouting Jay Heinbuck projects him as a #3 or #4 defenseman in the league.



Getting Despres as late as the Penguins did was undoubtedly some surprise, not unlike the Penguins having scoring star Angelo Esposito fall to their lap 2 years ago around 20th overall. Esposito, of course, was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers organization in the Marion Hossa trade in March of 2008, but has yet to demonstrate he's on his way to being an impact player in the NHL.



Whether Despres ends up in the same boat, despite the similarity of dropping in the draft, remains to be seen, but by adding Despres, the Penguins undoubtedly added to the stable of defense propects they have developed quite well over the last 5 seasons.



Samuelsson, another defenseman, is 6' 2: and about 200 lbs. He was the Penguins choice in round 2. He had 22 points in 54 games with Chicago of the U.S. Hockey League. Ranked 60th by NHL Central Scouting, but higher (in numbers) by most other services, picking Samuelsson seems to have been regarded in NHL circles as a bit of a reach for Pittsburgh.



Samuelsson, while known as a defensive defenseman like his father, isn't nearly the same punishing player physically that his dad was. Still, he has a reputation as a good penalty killer and a guy that clears the front of the net well. He recently led the 2009 U.S. Under-18 World Championships entry to a gold medal with a plus 9 rating. He is said to need a little improvement as a skater and with his aggressiveness.



Picking near the top of the 3rd round (with the selection of the Tampa Bay Lightning they acquired before free agency last year when Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts were shipped south), the Penguins chose winger Ben Hanowski, a Minnesota high school senior who will be going to St. Cloud State to play Division I college hockey this fall.



Hanowski, 6' 2", 200 lbs, was a wicked scorer at the high school level. With 405 points in his 4 years, he scored more points than any other player in the history of Minnesota high school hockey. Just this past season, for example, he had 57 goals and 110 points in 25 games. He was ranked 35th overall by NHL Central Scouting and, at least from that point of view, was a high value pick for Pittsburgh early in round 3.



I really like Hanowki's offensive potential. It will be good to see how he fares against stronger competition at the college level.



In round 4, the Penguins went back to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and picked right winger Nicholas Peterson from Shawinigan. Peterson, also 6' 2" and about 200 lbs, had 37 goals and 90 points in 68 games this last season.



In round 5, Pittsburgh had 2 selections. First they chose defenseman Alex Velischek, son of former New Jersey Devils defenseman Randy Velischek. He had 16 goals and 51 points in 30 games as a high school senior in New Jersey and will play at Providence College this coming season. He was ranked 63rd overall by NHL Central Scouting.



The Penguins chose Bathgate with their 2nd pick. Bathgate is a 6' 0" center who had 17 points in an injury-shortened 49 game season with Bellville in the Ontario Hockey League.



In round 6, the Penguins went back to defense and chose Victor Ekbom, a 6' 1" 190 lb defenseman from the swedish elite league.



The Penguins traded their 7th round and final pick of the draft to the Montreal Canadiens for their 6th round choice next season.



Overall, I'm relatively pleased with the Penguins' draft. Despres and Samuelsson are going to need a bit of work, but have the potential to be solid contributors at their position. I also really like Velischek. He should have a decent career at Providence College. Hanowski and Peterson are the scorers, and the Pens' need those in their system. They'll have different development paths -- one at a Division I school like Velischek, and the other through the junior ranks. Let's hope their potential manifests itself into top-6 forward positions for the Penguins in the long term.



Starting tomorrow, the focus shifts to free agency in this forum.



I'll give updates on the status of the Pens' key free agents -- including RW Bill Guerin, LW Ruslan Fedotenko and D Rob Scuderi, and talk a bit about who the Penguins may be targeting themselves come July 1.