Here’s Who Ranks As Best Penguins Late Draft Pick In Last 15 Years

While it’s been a tough run for the Pittsburgh Penguins as of late, the team’s success over the last two decades has happened due to great drafting through the years.

The first-round picks of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin helped set up the Penguins for success back in the early 2000s, helping lead Pittsburgh to three Stanley Cup victories through the years. Beyond the dynamic duo, however, have been some great selections that have played major parts in the Penguins’ success.

Bleacher Report’s Hannah Stuart listed the top late draft picks for each NHL team through the last 15 years, and the Penguins’ pick shouldn’t come as much of a shock. Stuart selected Jake Guentzel as the best late pick for the Penguins, as the now Tampa Bay Lightning forward was picked in the third round of the 2015 NHL Draft and played a major part in the 2017 Stanley Cup win.

“Were there other options for this selection,” Stuart wrote. “Not really, no—you can’t think of ‘value’ and “Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick” in the same sentence without Jake Guentzel’s face dancing around in your mind. Sidney Crosby’s longtime winger, currently a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, is one of the best value-for-pick players the Penguins have seen in a hot minute and was crucial to their 2017 Stanley Cup win. Trading him was, in fact, one of the first harbingers that things were going south in Pittsburgh. Guentzel currently sits at 538 NHL games and 509 points, and he’s got a good bit of career ahead of him.”

Guentzel was traded away at the 2023-24 NHL Trade Deadline to the Carolina Hurricanes, but Penguins fans won’t forget his contributions to the team for eight seasons any time soon.

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