Rangers decision won’t change Penguins draft strategy

With the New York Rangers ending all speculation and transferring the No. 12 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, Kyle Dubas and company now sit on the precipice of a huge moment in their quest to rebuild the franchise and usher in a new era of hockey in the Steel City.

Having already secured the 11th overall pick from the draft lottery, the 12th selection coming from the Rangers (via Vancouver officially) finalizes the Marcus Pettersson trade from last season and gives the Penguins its first back-to-back first round picks in franchise history.

It’s an exciting moment for the Penguins franchise and the fans as it signals the rebuild is about to enter full swing and a once barren prospect pool is on the verge of a much needed replenishing. Dubas has not been shy about his plan for the Penguins since taking over and now will have a prime opportunity to put his words into action.

When news broke that the Rangers made the decision to transfer the selection to the Penguins, many fans started sharing their thoughts on what exactly the Penguins should do with the pick, whether it be take one of the numerous prospects that will be available to them, or perhaps use that pick as leverage in a trade.

While no one outside the Penguins inner circle knows exactly what the Penguins will do now that they have the second first round pick in hand, Kyle Dubas and his teams already signaled whatever decision the Rangers made, it was not going to greatly alter their draft process in any way.

Speaking to Penguins team reporter Michelle Crechiolo earlier this month at the NHL Scouting Combine, director of player personnel Wes Clark was quite blunt when asked his thoughts on what getting the 12th pick meant for their draft preparation.

From @PensInsideScoop on X:

At the Combine, we asked Penguins director of player personnel Wes Clark about the possibility of getting this #NYR pick: “It doesn’t change anything. We collected all of the necessary information we need to get our list in order, and whoever the next man up is, we select.”

It’s clear from reading what Clark said that the Penguins had been preparing for the draft with both scenarios in mind, one with just the 11th pick and the other with ownership of both picks. Only time will tell if they game planned for other contingencies such as a trade to potentially move up the draft order.

Crechiolo also spoke with Dubas at the Combine and the where he touched on the fact that the Rangers pick being just one spot behind the Penguins meant they weren’t going to have to alter draft strategy much at all should the pick be sent over.

Again from @PensInsideScoop:

Kyle Dubas got the same question: “If it were in a wildly different spot, we would just be putting more time into it. But we’re studying for the exact same range, and we’ll either pick one player or two.” Said it will be an exciting addition to the prospect pool regardless.

Taylor Hasse, Penguins reporter for DK on Pittsburgh Sports, also attended the Combine earlier this month and spoke to Dubas about the Rangers selection. Dubas reiterated what he said above about the proximities of the two picks not changing their draft plans, but discussed where they rate this year’s selection compared to what selection could be in next year’s draft, viewed by many as a deeper draft.

Per Hasse:

“From our perspective, it really doesn’t make any difference,” Dubas told me. “We’re picking No. 11, so if we have No. 11 and No. 12, the preparation isn’t any different at all. I think more than that, the way that we project it out at this current stage, if the Rangers play to expectation next year and they’re picking in the late 20s, we kind of see the 12th pick this year and that later pick next year probably being about equal in value, perhaps, just because of the projected strength of the different classes. So, whatever the Rangers would like to do is fine by us. It’s no sweat either way, and once they decide, everyone will know.”

Well the decision has been finalized and now we all know the Penguins will be receiving the 12th overall selection from the Rangers. The decision came just over 24 hours before the deadline the Rangers had to decide by, but that extra day of knowing certainly won’t make much of a difference to the Penguins in their final preparations for Friday night since waiting to hear from the Rangers does not seem to have weighed on the minds of the Penguins brass leading up to this point to begin with.