The Pittsburgh Penguins are scheduled to have the 11th overall selection in this year’s NHL Draft.
On Monday, the league determined the order of the first 16 selections following a draft lottery determined by a set of convoluted rules.
Barring any trades, this is the highest overall selection the Penguins will have since they drafted defenseman Derrick Pouliot eighth overall in 2012 with a pick they acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Penguins, who finished with the ninth-worst record in the league this past regular season, could also gain the 12th overall selection of this year’s draft.
At the moment, that pick is the property of the New York Rangers. That selection went from New York to the Vancouver Canucks in a trade Jan. 31. That same day, the Canucks dealt the pick to the Penguins along with forward Danton Heinen, defenseman Vincent Desharnais and forward prospect Melvin Fernstrom in exchange for forward Drew O’Connor and defenseman Marcus Pettersson.
As a condition of the transaction between the Rangers and Canucks, that selection has protection if it fell within the top 13 picks. It did, so the Rangers have the option of retaining that pick and sending their first-round selection in the 2026 NHL Draft to the Penguins instead. New York management must make a decision on that condition by June 25, two days prior to the first round of this year’s draft.
The draft will be staged June 27 (first round) and June 28 (final six rounds).
Here is the order of the top 16 selections as determined by the lottery:
1. New York Islanders
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Chicago Blackhawks
4. Utah Hockey Club
5. Nashville Predators
6. Philadelphia Flyers
7. Boston Bruins
8. Seattle Kraken
9. Buffalo Sabres
10. Anaheim Ducks
11. Pittsburgh Penguins
12. New York Rangers
13. Detroit Red Wings
14. Columbus Blue Jackets
15. Vancouver Canucks
16. Montreal Canadiens (via Calgary Flames)