Penguins

Seven options for Penguins’ pick at No. 15

Taylor Haase
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BRADEN SCHNEIDER. -- The Brandon Sun

Jim Rutherford on Wednesday decided that the Penguins will be keeping their 2020 first-round pick and sending their 2021 first-round pick to Minnesota to complete the Jason Zucker trade.

With the Penguins set to select No. 15 overall, they will have their highest first-round pick in eight years. Who are some potential players the Penguins could take with that pick? Let’s take a look.

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BRADEN SCHNEIDER
Position: Defense
Team: Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
Size: 6-2, 210
Shoots: Right

Schneider was ranked the No. 9 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting this year, and came in at No. 17 overall on Bob McKenzie's final draft rankings.

Schneider is a two-way defenseman who plays on the Wheat Kings' power play and penalty kill. He's one of the more sizable prospects available in this range, and he plays a physical game. He turns 19 this Sept. 20, missing the cutoff to be eligible for last year's draft by just five days, so he's a bit more physically mature than other eligible prospects.

DraftSite called Schneider a "devastating checker" and "big strong defender who has some nasty sprinkled on top," and pointed to his skating, crisp passing and ability to disrupt passing lanes with his stick as some of his strengths.

In an interview with the WHL's website, Schneider was asked what type of player the team that picks him will be getting.

"I think they’d be getting a hard hitting defenseman," he said. "I take pride in my own end and I like to transition quick and jump into the rush if I can. I like to get shots from the point and I take pride in my first pass."

Schneider has been an alternate captain for the Wheat Kings for the past two seasons, and was the highest-scoring defenseman on his team this season with seven goals and 35 assists in 60 games.

With a pick this high you want to go for the best player available, but if you look at the Penguins' needs in their prospect pool, a right-handed defenseman would be at the top of their list, as the only drafted right-handed defense prospects in the system are seventh-round picks Will Reilly and Santeri Airola.

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SETH JARVIS
Position: Center/right wing
Team: Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
Size: 5-10, 172
Shoots: Right

Jarvis was ranked the No. 11 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting this year, and came in at No. 18 overall on Bob McKenzie's final draft rankings.

Jarvis has a good two-way game and is one of his team's best penalty killers. John Williams of NHL Central Scouting said in an interview with NHL.com that his compete level and hockey IQ are things you notice when watching Jarvis play.

Winterhawks head coach Mike Johnston (yes, former Penguins head coach Mike Johnston) pointed to Jarvis' speed as one of his big strengths.

"He does everything at full speed and he can really skate," Johnston told NHL.com. "He's got quick hands, he's got quick feet, he drives the net at full speed, he attacks defenders at full speed. And he's got good vision."

Because of that speed and his quick hands, Jarvis said in an interview with the WHL website that he thinks his game is comparable to that of Mitch Marner.

Jarvis had a slow start to the 2019-20 season, and told NHL.com that the pressure of being in his draft-eligible year were becoming a focus of his and affecting his game. Johnston said that he noticed a turnaround in Jarvis' game after the Christmas break.

"It was about mid-November when I saw that he was carrying an extra weight on his shoulders," Johnston said. "I found it was similar [to last season] in that the wear and tear and the scrutiny and everything else weighs on you. But after Christmas he was a different person. He came back [this season] after Christmas and was a different player."

Jarvis finished No. 2 in the WHL in scoring, leading his team by a 28-point margin, scoring 42 goals and 56 assists in 58 games. Impressive numbers in the more defense-heavy WHL.

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ANTON LUNDELL
Position: Center
Team: HIFK (Liiga)
Size: 6-1, 187
Shoots: Left

Lundell was ranked the No. 3 European skater by NHL Central Scouting this year, and came in at No. 12 overall on Bob McKenzie's final draft rankings.

Lundell has played in the top Finnish men's league for the past two seasons. The 2019-20 season was his first full season in Liiga, and he finished seventh on the team in scoring with 10 goals and 18 assists in 44 games. He was the league's leading scorer among first-year draft eligible players and younger this year.

That experience playing with grown men gives Lundell an edge development-wise. Lundell is also another late birthday and turns 19 six days before the draft on Oct. 3, making him one of the older prospects available this year.

Lundell won a gold medal with Finland in the 2019 World Junior Championship as the youngest player on Finland's roster. He scored one goal and three assists in seven games, primarily playing on Kaapo Kakko's line. Penguins prospect Valtteri Puustinen was also a member of that team.

Lundell has a strong two-way game, is a good playmaker with a high hockey IQ. One of his biggest strengths is the way he's able to protect the puck and how strong he is on his skates.

Lundell's father, Jan, was a goaltender and had a long professional career from 1996-2012. He played primarily in Finland with HIFK, but also had stops in Sweden, Germany, Denmark, and the Czech Republic.

Jan is currently the goaltending coach and team manager for HIFK, and served as an emergency goaltender for one game this season. He played the final minute of the game, becoming the oldest player in Liiga history at age 46 and briefly becoming teammates with his son:

Since Lundell is coming from Europe and not any of the three CHL leagues, he would be eligible to play in the AHL next season if needed.

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DAWSON MERCER
Position: Right wing/center
Team: Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)
Size: 6-0, 180
Shoots: Right

Mercer was ranked the No. 10 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting this year, and came in at No. 13 overall on Bob McKenzie's final draft rankings.

Mercer, a Newfoundland native, played his first two and a half QMJHL seasons with the Drummondville Voltigeurs before being acquired by Chicoutimi midway through the 2019-20 season for the Sagueneens' anticipated playoff run.

Mercer scored 18 goals and 24 assists in 26 games for Drummondville this season, then six goals and 12 assists in 16 games with Chicoutimi after the trade before a wrist injury cut his season short.

Mercer played for Canada in the 2020 World Junior Championship and was scoreless in seven games as Canada went on to win gold. He also played for Team QMJHL in this season's Junior Super Series against the Russian junior team, where he was teammates with Nathan Legare and Samuel Poulin. He scored two goals and one assist in two games.

DraftSite calls Mercer a "sturdily built natural sniper whose stick is always close to the ice surface, displaying strong offensive zone instincts." He plays on both the power play and penalty kill, is a playmaker and a smooth skater.

Mercer will turn 19 two weeks after the draft.

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KAIDEN GUHLE
Position: Defense
Team: Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
Size: 6-3, 187
Shoots: Left

Guhle was ranked the No. 8 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting this year, and came in at No. 14 overall on Bob McKenzie's final draft rankings.

Guhle is an exceptional skater despite his size, in terms of both agility and pure speed. DraftSite says Guhle "plays with grit ands loves physically engage with opposing forwards and try and throw them off their game," and calls him "an excellent passer."

Guhle led all Raiders defensemen in scoring this season and finished No. 6 on the team overall with 11 goals and 29 assists in 64 games.

Guhle's older brother Brendan is also a defenseman, and was a second-round pick by the Sabres in 2015. He was traded to the Ducks in 2018-19, and split this season between the Ducks and their AHL affiliate in San Diego.

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HENDRIX LAPIERRE
Position: Center
Team: Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)
Size: 6-1, 180
Shoots: Left

Lapierre was ranked the No. 13 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting this year, and came in at No. 15 overall on Bob McKenzie's final draft rankings.

Lapierre's injury history over the last two seasons is cause for some concern. He was limited to 48 games in his rookie 2018-19 season after suffering a shoulder injury in October and a concussion in February, which he returned from in the spring. Despite the absences, he finished No. 2 on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 32 assists

Lapierre sustained a second concussion in October 2019 and missed only four of Chicoutimi's games. A month later he was diagnosed with a third concussion. He played just 19 games in the 2019-20 season, scoring two goals and 15 assists.

Lapierre was cleared to play again in April after the QMJHL season was shut down. He told Renaud Lavoie that the the headaches that kept him out for most of the season were lasting effects from a vertebrae injury sustained in the hit in November, and that he felt "150 percent" after treating the injury.

He spoke about his injury history in this interview with TSN:

Lapierre, when healthy, is a well-rounded two-way center with strong playmaking abilities. In the above interview, he called himself a "hardworking playmaker, someone that wants to get better every day," and compares his style of game to that of Evgeny Kuznetsov and also wants to try to emulate his game after that of Aleksander Barkov.

His health is the priority here. The concussion issues could be completely behind him, but I don't know if it's possible to know for certain that he's 100 percent if he didn't get a chance to play again after November. I'm reminded of the Penguins' 2017 second-round pick Zachary Lauzon who dealt with concussion issues and what sounded like a similar neck injury that was causing headaches. He too thought his concussion and neck issues were behind him when I spoke with him at Penguins development camp last summer, but ended up retiring at age 20 just three months later after his concussion symptoms returned.

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DYLAN HOLLOWAY
Position: Center/left wing
Team: University of Wisconsin (NCAA)
Size: 6-0, 192
Shoots: Left

Holloway was ranked the No. 12 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting this year, and came in at No. 16 overall on Bob McKenzie's final draft rankings. He's expected to be the first college prospect selected in this year's draft.

Holloway, a native of Calgary, Alberta, played in his freshman NCAA season this year and finished No. 8 in team scoring with eight goals and nine assists in 35 games. He won the Badgers' award for being the most consistent player:

Holloway is another late birthday and missed the cutoff date for the 2019 draft by eight days, so he's one of the few prospects who are in their first year of eligibility but already have a year of NCAA hockey under their belt.

Holloway is a power forward with a heavy shot.

“He plays the game like an NHL player right now,” Wisconsin coach (and former Penguins assistant coach) Tony Granato told WiscNews this season. “He’s not going to shy away. He’s got great wide speed. He knows how to protect the puck. He wants to compete. He wants to battle. And he’s big and strong enough to be able to do it.”

Holloway's father Bruce was a seventh-round pick of the Canucks in 1981 and played three professional seasons, including two games with the Canucks in the 1984-85 season.

 

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