PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The first time in the first round since 2019, the Pens select defenseman Owen Pickering Thursday night in the NHL Draft.
The 6'4", 180 pounder plays a physical game, is a left-handed shot and can also jump up in the play. The Manitoba native played 62 games for the Swift Current Broncos in the Western Hockey League this past season with nine goals and 24 assists. The 18-year-old ranked as high as 13th by TSN's Craig Button, 16th by Eliteprospects.com and ranked 23rd by Consolidated Ranking
The Pens last first round pick was forward Sam Poulin in 2019. The forward played 72 games with 16 goals and 21 assists in the American Hockey League this past season. Their previous first rounder was Kasperi Kapanen, currently a restricted free agent with the Pens.
What NHL.com said about the Pens selection-
"Pickering (6-4, 180) led Swift Current defensemen with 33 points (nine goals, 24 assists) and 17 power-play points (four goals, 13 assists) in 62 games. He was named Western Hockey League Central Division Rookie of the Year and was made the Central Division Second All-Star Team. He also had two assists and was a plus-2 in four games for Canada at the 2022 IIHF Under-18 World Championship. The 18-year-old left-handed shot is a very good skater with room to add strength. He impressed scouts with how he handled heavy minutes on a team that had a minus-65 goal differential and finished 10th among 12 teams in the WHL Eastern Conference."
Pens will have four selections on day two (the final day of the Draft) starting at 11a on Friday. A fourth (118 overall), fifth (150 overall), sixth (182 overall) and seventh (214 overall) round pick.
