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Must-Have Draft Pick Kyle Dubas and the Penguins Are Expected to Lock In
Kyle Dubas and the Pittsburgh Penguins are expected to target a player in particular if they get the top pick at the upcoming NHL draft.
The upside of a bad season in the NHL is that the worst teams in the League get the best odds to win the draft lottery.
Getting a first overall pick can be a crucial moment for a franchise, and with the way their season ended, the Pittsburgh Penguins are among the teams who have chances of getting that coveted first pick.
As of now, the Penguins have five percent chance of winning the lottery, with only eight teams ahead of them in the odds.
Even if 5 percent seems like small odds, it's better than nothing for a team like the Penguins, who could greatly benefit from adding a young star to their team.
According to The Athletic's Josh Yohe, the Penguins could have already locked in their selection if they were to win the lottery.
Indeed, in a recent paper, Yohe wrote about Matthew Schaefer, the projected first overall pick, and how he could help the Penguins.
Schaefer, an offensive defenseman often compared to Vancouver Canucks' captain Quinn Hughes, could fill a hole at the Penguins' blue line, whereas the other interesting candidate, Michael Misa, the second-best player in the draft, is a great centerman, which, still according to Yohe, teams can't go wrong with either:
"Matthew Schaefer, the presumed No. 1 pick in the draft, is an outrageously gifted offensive defenseman. An NHL scout I've spoken with has compared him to Quinn Hughes. He could be that kind of player.
Michael Misa, likely the second-best player in the draft, projects as a legitimate No. 1 center, maybe a John Tavares kind of player. You can't go wrong with either.
Should the Penguins luck out and get the top pick, I'd guess they'd go with Schaefer. They need someone to run the power play moving forward. They need real talent on the left side of their blue line. And, by most accounts, he's the best player available at No. 1. I would have to think he'd be the guy." - Josh Yohe
Michael Misa, likely the second-best player in the draft, projects as a legitimate No. 1 center, maybe a John Tavares kind of player. You can't go wrong with either.
Should the Penguins luck out and get the top pick, I'd guess they'd go with Schaefer. They need someone to run the power play moving forward. They need real talent on the left side of their blue line. And, by most accounts, he's the best player available at No. 1. I would have to think he'd be the guy." - Josh Yohe
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 27 | 267 ANSWERS Must-Have Draft Pick Kyle Dubas and the Penguins Are Expected to Lock In Do you think the Pittsburgh Penguins will win the draft lottery? | ||
| Yes | 81 | 30.3 % |
| No | 186 | 69.7 % |
| List of polls | ||