The Penguins At The 2009 NHL Entry Draft

Envy is the word of the day for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they head into the first round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft tonight (7PM EST) in Montreal.

Not because they are front-and-center with draft day trade buzz, but because they have the draft pick everyone else would love to have.

And it's the last one in the first round.

Of course, that pick is reserved for a special team every season -- the one that just claimed the Stanley Cup, which is what the Penguins did 2 weeks ago tonight.

So, with their 30th overall choice in round 1 this evening, the Penguins probably won't make a big splash. I haven't heard a lot of talk of them trading the pick to move up (or down) and they don't seem to be involved in the large number of trade talks involving high-profile players throughout the league.

That aside, Penguins' Director of Scouting Jay Heinbuck will gladly make a choice after every other team has made one in the first round.

Especially after not picking until 120th last year, thanks to a series of trades over the prior 2 seasons where GM Ray Shero had moved Pittsburgh's first three picks.

This year, in addition to picking 30th, the Penguins will also choose #61 and #63 on Saturday. The Penguins own their own choice in the #61 hole, but own the pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the #63 hole thanks to the trade which sent Ryan Malone to Tampa last year just before free agency.

So basically, the Penguins will have a late first round pick, and two picks that might as well be considered to be at the back end of round 2. In those positions, the Penguins should be able to get some decent prospects, and they need to restock their cupboard a little bit after having only 4 choices overall last season.

If this draft from Heinbuck is anything like the 2007 draft -- where the Penguins landed solid prospects in almost every round: Luca Caputi, Alex Grant, Casey-Pierro Zabotel, Dustin Jeffrey, among others -- the Penguins will be in good shape.

While the Penguins will probably pick the best player available in round 1 tomorrow (and most of rounds 2-7 on Saturday, for that matter), I can't help but lean towards them stocking their system with a nice winger with their first pick.

Here's a list of players that either have been rumored to be on the Penguins' radar, should be on their radar, or both, and that may be around when they pick first:

- 6' 2" 200 lb LW Jordan Caron from Rimouski in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Caron had 36 goals and 31 assists for 67 points in 56 games last season. He's a decent 2-way hockey player who goes up and down the wing. He has a scoring touch and a phsyical element to his game, too.

- 5' 10" 190 lb RW Kyle Palmieri from the US Under-18 National Team. Palmieri has good offensive instincts and determination. He had 15 goals and 15 assists in 33 games for the National Team.

- 6' 1" 190 lb LW Jeremy Morin -- another guy from the US Under-18 squad. Morin is a pretty good goal scorer at his age. While contributing to the USA's gold medal at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Under 18 Championship, he had 6 goals in 7 games. With the National Team, he had 26 goals and 22 assists for 48 points in 46 games.

- 6' 3" 205 lb RW Carl Klingberg, who played for Frolunda in the Swedish Elite League last season. Klingberg is another physical player with offensive flair to his game.

- 6' 3" 230 lb RW Kyle Budish, a guy who suited up in the Minnesota High School Elite League last season. Budish is certainly a boy in a man's body, and uses that size to his advantage on the ice. He had a knee injury that wiped out a lot of last season for him and that may cause some teams to be hesitant about him, but the general consensus is that Budish can be an offensive impact player in the NHL. He had 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points in 15 games last season.

All of these players are intriguing possibilities for Pittsburgh. In truth, though, there's a heck of a lot more guesswork which goes on when you're picking 30th than 3rd. So time will have to tell exactly who the Penguins add to their stable of propsects over the next few days.

Weekend updates to come.