Penguins Update: Draft Day Two

Hi folks. Sorry to be late on reporting the Penguins’ final four picks of the ’24 Entry Draft, which included some intriguing ones. But yesterday was a bea-u-ti-ful day in the ‘Burgh and…well…the pool beckoned.

As the old saying goes, better late than never.

Actually, the draft may very well prove to be the lone bright spot of an otherwise lackluster summer, shinny-wise, based on our cap constraints and Kyle Dubas’ assertions that we won’t be signing any free agents to long-term deals.

Not being a draft guru, I’ll just be providing thumbnail sketches of our picks. Here goes.

In the fourth round, the Pens selected Chase Pietila, a 20-year-old right-shot defenseman out of Michigan Tech by way of Youngstown of the USHL. Listed at 6’3” and 186 pounds by Hockeydb, Pietila’s a throwback of sorts…an honest-to-goodness physical defenseman who piles up penalty minutes (125 for the Phantoms in ’22-23) and drops the gloves.

Don’t have to tell you, qualities that are in short supply around these parts.

Being a 111th overall pick, it’s anything but a given Pietila will one day emerge as a bona fide NHLer.

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