The 2026 NHL Draft is less than three weeks away, meaning the Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins] front office and scouting staff are deep in preparation for it. The Penguins have the 22nd overall pick in the first round and depending on how the board shakes out, could have some really good players fall to them. One player they'll be very familiar with, who has a ton of skill, is Wyatt Cullen, the son of Matt Cullen. The latter won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017 and works for the team as a development coach. Wyatt is projected to go in the first round after a tremendous 2025-26 campaign with the United States National Team Development Program. He finished the season with 16 goals and 45 points in 40 games as a winger. Cullen also played great at the U18 World Juniors, compiling three goals and nine points in five games. He had the best point per game average (1.80) of any player in the tournament. He has a lot of skill in his game and is very shifty. He's able to knife through players and find open space like it's nothing. One of my favorite plays from his season came during Team USA's game against Germany, when he received a pass and made a beautiful deke around a German skater before going backhand-to-forehand for a goal. His skating, shiftiness, stick-handling, and net-front play were all on display. Speaking of his skating, he's electric when he gets going and can blow past some players with his separation speed. He's also got some nice vision, especially on the power play. Cullen spoke really highly about his skill at the NHL Combine last week and almost pitched himself to teams who are looking to potentially draft him. "I think my skill is, kind of, top-four, five, three in the draft," Cullen said [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/i-took-so-much-away-from-those-years-wyatt-cullen-reflects-on-growing-up-with-a-cup-team-in-pittsburgh]. "I have really high-end skill, and I think that's what separates me. I see the ice and have really high-IQ, and I feel like my IQ and skillset is what separates me from other guys." While his offensive skill is outstanding, I still question whether he'll be able to pull off some of these moves against better players. I don't think he's going to get as much space when he plays for the University of Minnesota in the NCAA. He's gonna have to learn that "less is more" at times. 'I Took So Much Away From Those Years': Wyatt Cullen Reflects On Growing Up With A Cup Team In Pittsburgh [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/afb7fa9e-479b-4cba-8cc2-e761adebd7ca.jpeg] 'I Took So Much Away From Those Years': Wyatt Cullen Reflects On Growing Up With A Cup Team In Pittsburgh Wyatt Cullen - son of former Pittsburgh Penguin and three-time Stanley Cup champion Matt Cullen - learned some valuable and applicable lessons from his time as a child in Pittsburgh. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/i-took-so-much-away-from-those-years-wyatt-cullen-reflects-on-growing-up-with-a-cup-team-in-pittsburgh] As for his two-way game, it's definitely an area that he needs to improve. He's not as defensively responsible as some of the other forwards in this class, and I'd like to see him get back and help out a little bit more. Like every prospect, he had some rough plays during this past season, and the Penguins showed him some of them during their meeting with Cullen at the NHL Combine. It's something he really appreciated. "It went really well," Cullen said. "They showed some bad clips of you, but I think it's really good. They kind of helped me out a bit and gave me some good tips, so I think it went really well." It's highly likely that Cullen will be picked in the top 15 of the 2026 NHL Draft, but if he falls a bit, I wouldn't be surprised if the Penguins looked to trade up a few spots to snag him. The first round of the 2026 NHL Draft will take place on June 26 at 7 p.m. ET. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwquDfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
