The Pittsburgh Penguins need to improve their prospect pool in all areas.

The NHL Draft is eight days away, and the Pittsburgh Penguins still hold the 14th overall selection. While the team needs a boost at the NHL level, there is a good argument that trading that pick should not be on the table.

If the Penguins decide to keep their first-round selection, the highest pick they have had since 2012, there is a handful of prospects they could choose from once they are on the clock in Nashville next week.

One prospect the Penguins appear to be interested in is Brayden Yager of the Moose Jaw Warriors in the WHL. Yager has been ranked between seventh and 30th by scouts after scoring 78 points (28G-50A) in 67 games last season. The Penguins met with Yager at the NHL Scouting Combine and even took the forward prospect to dinner that week.

Besides Yager, the top of this year's draft class is littered with talent at the forward position, but considering how bare the Penguins' prospect pool currently is, drafting a defenseman should not be out of the question.

Several defensive prospects, such as Axel Sandin-Pelikka and David Reinbacher, would warrant a conversation if they slip to the Penguins at 14.

The Penguins used the 21st overall pick in last year's draft on Owen Pickering, a tall offensive defenseman out of the WHL. With very few top-tier defensemen in the system and a handful of talented blue-liners expected to land around the 14th pick, the Penguins must take their best player available.

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