Pittsburgh Penguins At NHL Draft: Remaining Day Two Picks
By Larry Snyder
The Pittsburgh Penguins concluded their quest for new talent Saturday during Rounds 2 through 7 of the National Hockey League Entry Draft. The event was held at the BB&T Center, home of the NHL’s Panthers, in Sunrise, Florida.
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The Black and Gold selected Daniel Sprong, 18, of the Charlottetown Islanders in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the 46th-overall selection in the second round of the draft. You can read more about him here on City Of Champions Sports.
With the Pens fifth-round pick, the 137th overall, they took center Dominik Simon, 20, from the Czech Republic. The 5-foot-11, 176-pound forward contributed 18 goals and 30 points over 52 contests for Ptzen HC in the Czech Republic League. The Praha, CZE native was ranked 177th by Hockeyprospect.com. He is known here for the shootout goal that beat Canada in the 2013 World Junior Championship.
Welcome to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Dominik Simon! pic.twitter.com/s5HOS9tduc
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 27, 2015
Pittsburgh chose in the sixth round with the 167th pick overall, left wing Frederik Tiffels of Germany. The 6-foot, 192-pound forward put up 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in 32 games as a freshman at Western Michigan University. The Cologne, Germany native had a hand in four of Germany’s six goals in the World Juniors tournament this past winter.
Nice to have you as part of the team, @Tiffels17! pic.twitter.com/S8mhLFevVy
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 27, 2015
The Penguins in the seventh round with the 197th overall pick, claimed Russian center Nikita Pavlychev. The 6-foot-7, 200-pound forward had six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in 42 contests for the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League. The Yarslavl, Russia native is committed to the Penn State Nittany Lions for collegiate hockey.
Be sure to give the newest member of the #Pens a follow. Welcome to the team, @nikitapavlychev! pic.twitter.com/TKdUJl19TL
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 27, 2015
Looking back, the Black and Gold did not have a pick in the first round because it was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers Friday, Jan. 2, 2015 along with left wing Rob Klinkhammer in exchange for left wing David Perron. They were minus their third-round selection because it was part of the March 2014 trade that brought center Marcel Goc from the Panthers to Pittsburgh. This year’s fourth-round pick was sent along with center Zach Sill to the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015 for left wing Daniel Winnik.
How do you view these deals in hindsight? Was it worth it to leave the draft with so few selections? Should Jim Rutherford have done more to get back into the first round of this year’s draft? Let me know your thoughts on the Penguins selections in the comments section below.
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