Penguins Have Slight Chance of Getting Top 10 Draft Pick
The Pittsburgh Penguins will have their highest selection in the NHL Draft since 2006.
Now that the Pittsburgh Penguins are officially finished for the season and their management team has been dismissed, the organization received a minor bit of good news. With their first missed postseason since the 2005-06 season, the Penguins will receive their highest draft pick in nearly two decades.
The Penguins finished 19th in the overall league standings this season, guaranteeing them a top-15 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. With the draft lottery set for May 8th, the Penguins have a small chance to move up even further.
The new draft lottery rules, adopted in 2021, instituted some new limitations to the lottery system. Instead of having all teams who missed the playoffs be eligible for the top selection, the new rules limit the total number of draft slots an organization can move up. If a team 'wins' the lottery, the most they can move up is 10 spots.
Under these rules, it eliminates the chance that the Penguins could receive the first overall pick in the 2023 draft. Unfortunately, the Penguins will not be able to luck into the generational talent that is Connor Bedard.
However, the Penguins could find themselves moving up to as high of a pick as fourth overall. The odds are very low, with only a 1.5% chance to move up, but it's possible. Last year the New Jersey Devils jumped five spots to the number two position. In 2020 the New York Rangers won the lottery to everyone's surprise and drafted Alex Lafreniere first overall.
Wherever the draft position ends up falling for the Penguins in 2023, it will be one of the highest draft choices in nearly two decades. The Penguins have picked inside the top-10 just twice since drafting Sidney Crosby.
In the 2006 draft, they selected center-man Jordan Staal with the second overall pick. The Penguins also picked in the top-10 when they traded Staal to Carolina for a package including the eighth overall selection in the 2012 draft. The used that pick on defenseman Derrick Pouliot.
With this top 15 pick in the 2023 draft, the Penguins will hope to land a Staal and avoid a Pouliot, and hopefully give this organization a huge lift.
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