2023 NHL Draft: Penguins select 5 players on Day 2

The Pittsburgh Penguins made two selections in the seventh round of the 2023 NHL Draft. With the 217th pick, the Penguins took forward Emil Järventie. Six picks later, the Penguins took defenseman Kalle Kangas with their 223rd selection. 

In the sixth round of the 2023 NHL Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins selected forward Cooper Foster with the 174th pick.

With their next pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins selected C Mikhail Ilyin with the 142nd selection in the fifth round. Ilyin is a forward with a left-handed shot. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins have made their first selection in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft. Defenseman Emil Pieniniemi was selected by the Penguins with the 91st pick. 

This comes after trading back one pick from the 90th selection. The Penguins traded the 90th overall pick to the New York Rangers for the 91st selection and a 2024 seventh-round selection. 

Yager is a center that has a dynamic shot that helped him score 69 goals over 154 games in Moose Jaw. 

While the potential is there, Yager himself admitted he's still a couple of years away from being an NHL contributor. 

"Whenever Pittsburgh thinks I'm ready, I guess," he said when asked what his timetable is now that he's been drafted. "Maybe a couple of years, two-three years, give myself a chance to gain some strength and be NHL ready." 

He began his time in the WHL as a 15-year-old, playing 24 games for the Warriors and recording 18 points, including 7 goals. 

That was followed up by his first full season with the Warriors, where he won CHL Rookie of the Year in a season where he scored 34 goals, 25 assists, for 59 points. 

Read more about the Penguins' pick at 14th overall right here. 

Following the Penguins selecting 18-year-old Brayden Yager with the team's 14th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, team president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas spoke about the selection.

"He was in a mix of players that we were really hoping would drop down to 14," Dubas said. "The things that we like about him are that he competed as a center in a really difficult division. In addition to his production, was the way that he played defensively."  

The draft continues Thursday for the Penguins, and it will be a busy day.

The team's picks on Day 2 are below: 

• Round 3, Pick 90
• Round 5, Pick 142
• Round 6, Pick 174
• Round 7, Pick 217
• Round 7, Pick 223

After being drafted by the Penguins at No. 14 overall, Brayden Yager said it is 'a dream' to become a Pittsburgh Penguin and play with star Sidney Crosby.

"It's a dream," Yager said on the broadcast. "He's a guy I've looked up to my whole life. Obviously, the Penguins are an unbelievable organization. So, it's a dream. I can't even put it into words."

Yager, who said he models his game after Crosby, received a call from the Penguins captain on Wednesday. 

With the No. 14 overall pick in Wednesday's 2023 NHL Draft, the Penguins selected forward Brayden Yager.

Click here to read more.

The Penguins are on the clock!

The Pittsburgh Penguins got forward Reilly Smith from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for a 2024 third round pick. 

The Golden Knights said it was originally their pick and it was sent to Pittsburgh in March in exchange for Teddy Blueger. 

The Penguins said Smith is signed through the 2024-25 season and his contract carries an average annual value of $5 million at the NHL level.  

Going into tonight's draft in Nashville, the Penguins currently hold six picks

• Round 1, Pick 14
• Round 3, Pick 90
• Round 5, Pick 142
• Round 6, Pick 174
• Round 7, Pick 217
• Round 7, Pick 223

The Penguins do not hold a 2nd round draft pick as they traded that pick earlier this year in exchange for Mikael Granlund in a swap with the Nashville Predators.

The Pens' 4th round pick belongs to the Montreal Canadiens from last summer's trade that swapped Mike Matheson and that pick in exchange for Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling.