PITTSBURGH ADDS TEN ON DAY TWO OF 2025 DRAFT

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The first round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft was full of surprises for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kyle Dubas entered the night with two picks, then maneuvered a pair of trades to end up with three choices.

It was an unpredictable evening in Los Angeles, California, but the Penguins came away with a haul nonetheless. Day two of the 2025 draft set up an opportunity to add to that haul.

Pittsburgh entered Saturday’s festivities with eight picks, including three in the third round. Of course, Dubas started wheeling and dealing right away, making a move that put the Penguins on the clock at 39th overall in the second round.

More trades came thereafter, ultimately giving them 10 draft picks to work with on Saturday.

You can inform yourself on Pittsburgh’s three first-round selections, Benjamin Kindel, Bill Zonnon and William Horcoff, by clicking on the links attached to their names.

Without further ado, here’s the Penguins’ haul from rounds two through seven…

39th OVERALL – PEYTON KETTLES (D)

Right off the hop, Pittsburgh struck a deal with the Buffalo Sabres that sent defensemen Conor Timmins and Isaac Belliveau to Upstate New York for defenseman Connor Clifton and this pick. And with the choice, the Penguins made it a full blueline deal by taking towering, physical rearguard Peyton Kettles.

Kettles stands at 6-foot-5.5 and takes no prisoners. He’ll box out his net-front with aplomb, bury opponents along the boards, and he is never frazzled by the opponent’s fiercest forecheckers. His long reach helps him stymie transition offense and sweep away loose rebounds, too. In short, he can be a lockdown player in his own end.

In terms of offensive production, there isn’t much there for Kettles. The right-handed D-man tallied five goals and 14 points in 53 games for the Swift Current Broncos. That said, he’s fairly mobile for his size and demonstrates a good first pass to get his team out of their zone and on the attack. And in another quirk, Swift Current used him at the net-front during the power play this season,

Kettles doesn’t turn 17 until September. Therefore, he won’t be eligible to play full-time in the AHL until 2027-28.

73rd OVERALL – CHARLETON TRETHEWEY (D)

Just call him “Charlie”.

This was a feel-good pick to kick off a busy third round for the Penguins, taking a right-handed defenseman who grew up in the Pittsburgh area. Though born in Maryland, Trethewey played youth hockey for the Penguins Elite program during his formative years. He later departed for the United States National Team Development Program, where Pittsburgh watched him patrol the blue line this season.

“Efficiency” is a word that comes up a lot when pundits discuss Trethewey. There isn’t a lot of flash to his game, but there is an execution that doesn’t go unnoticed. Smooth at exiting his zone, he can find the open man or gallop up to start the rush on his own. He’s made improvements to his skating in recent years to help with that latter points.

The 17-year-old won’t back down from a physical spat and spends regular time on the penalty kill.

Trethewey boasts a sneaky good shot, packing some zip on both his slap and wrist shots.

Trethewey is committed to join Boston University in the fall.

84th OVERALL – GABRIEL D’AIGLE (G)

With their second pick in round three, Pittsburgh bolstered its already-deep goaltending pipeline with one of the workhorses of the QMJHL, Gabriel D’Aigle.

D’Aigle played the third-most minutes in the Q this season and saw the most shots in the league by a country mile. His total number of saves (1713) eclipsed the player with the second-most total shots against by 14. So he played a lot and faced a lot of rubber, valuable experience for a young goalie. Unfortunately, that was also a byproduct of him playing behind the worst team in the league, the Victoriaville Tigres. So don’t hold his .883 save percentage and 4.52 goals against average against him.

D’Aigle was regularly under siege, yet he never let it affect his compete level. He’ll battle for every save he can make and never quit on a puck (and heaven knows, he saw a lot of pucks this season.)

At 6-foot-4, he has ideal size for the position. He’s also an adept puck-handler, setting a Victoriaville franchise record for assists in a season with eight.

As a late-2006 born player, D’Aigle will be eligible for duty in the AHL starting in 2026-27.

91st OVERALL – BRADY PEDDLE (D)

Pittsburgh was slated to pick back-to-back at 85th overall after taking D’Aigle, but instead swapped picks with the Vegas Golden Knights. That gave the Penguins slot No. 91, and they selected another steady, right-handed D in Brady Peddle.

Peddle made it to the USHL Final with the Waterloo Black Hawks this spring, but fell short of winning the Clark Cup. Peddle was instrumental in that run, providing key defense and 10 points (1G-9A) in 15 games. That playoff production matched his total from the entire regular season, and those regular-season numbers are more in line with what Peddle projects to be as a pro.

Peddle takes care of his own zone first and foremost, clogging lanes and blocking shots. Another D-man who isn’t afraid to engage physically, he can stall a cycle with one well-timed hit/pin along the wall. He’s a player in takes deep pride in not being scored against, so he’ll let someone else take the glory of scoring at the other end.

He’s expected to spend another season with Waterloo, then will have an opportunity to continue to showcase his defensive prowess with Michigan State University in 2026-27.

105th OVERALL – TRAVIS HAYES (RW)

Another feel-good selection made by Pittsburgh, this time at the top of the fourth round. That’s where they took Travis Hayes, younger brother of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward Avery Hayes.

Travis Hayes is tenacious in puck pursuit, adding to Pittsburgh’s penchant for taking high-compete forwards in this year’s draft. He has darty, bursts of speed to either pressure defenses or scuttle into a shooting lane. He’s shown an ability to whip in shots from sharp angles at times, too. He’s a reliable, dogged penalty killer, as well.

Travis shares many similarities to his brother in terms of playing style, and fans in Northeast Pennsylvania have had a front-row seat to how valuable players like Avery Hayes can be. Travis also represented the U.S. at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup back in August of 2024 and wore a letter as an alternate captain.

Travis finished fifth on the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in points this season with 21 goals and 30 assists for 51 points. However, in the Greyhounds’ short-lived stay in the OHL Playoffs, he led the team with three goals.

Another September birthday like Kettles, Travis Hayes will be eligible for full-time assignment to the AHL in 2027-28.

130th OVERALL – RYAN MILLER (C)

Ryan Miller is a reliable middle-of-the-lineup center who is very mindful of the minutiae of the position. He backchecks diligently and supports his D in their zone. He thinks the game with decent pace too, which should help him adjust to pro hockey when the time comes.

His regular season saw him score 16 goals and 31 points in 50 games, but he then stepped up his game for 13 points (4G-9A) in 16 playoff games during the Portland Winterhawks’ march to the Western Conference Final. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that he experienced an uptick in production come crunch time, as he’s the type to always get involved in the hard-to-win areas around the crease.

Miller is currently on track to enroll at the University of Denver in 2026-27.

148th OVERALL – QUINN BEAUCHESNE (D)

Say hello to another right-handed defenseman, Quinn Beauchesne, an intelligent and occasionally silky operator on the backend.

The foundation of Beauchesne’s game comes from his multi-directional skating. He’s smooth like butter on his feet, and his ability to maneuver laterally stands out in particular. Beauchesne prefers to use those tools to stymie transition offense for opponents, but the nature of his skating ability has some scouts wondering if there’s some untapped offensive potential hidden in there. He’s a player who seems to be in perpetual motion.

The Ottawa, Ontario native generated six goals and 18 assists for 24 points in 49 games with the Guelph Storm this year. He also won gold medals with Canada at both the 2024 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup and the 2025 IIHF U18 Worlds.

Beauchesne will be eligible to join the AHL full-time starting in the 2027-28 season.

154th OVERALL – JORDAN CHARRON (RW)

Cue the social media jokes about Dubas loving his Soo boys, because six picks later, the Penguins brought another Greyhound into the fold, Jordan Charron.

Charron is a meat-and-potatoes player who gets in the guts of the play and does a lot of the thankless jobs that coaches love. Need a shot blocked? Charron’s got it. Need someone to attack the puck once it’s chipped down the wall? Charron’s on it. Need someone to take some abuse at the net-front to open up space for other puck carriers? Charron’s your man.

Charron, 6-foot-1 from Ayr, Ontario, dabbled in lower levels of Ontario junior hockey before joining the Greyhounds for the second half of their season (and what turned out to be a thrilling turnaround to make the postseason.) He produced 10 goals and 21 points in 48 games with the Soo, but brought a lot of untrackable contributions to the team.

St. Lawrence University will be waiting for Charron in the 2026-27 season.

169th OVERALL – CARTER SANDERSON (LW)

The trend of hard-nosed, blue-collar forwards continued in the sixth round with Clark Cup Champion Carter Sanderson.

Sanderson won the USHL title with the Muskegon Lumberjacks this spring, a team managed by Rutger McGroarty’s dad, Jim. Sanderson didn’t play a starring role on that championship team, but he did provide an abundance of energy. He’s a strong-bodied winger who gets his big dimensions in the grill of opposing defenders and treats every shift like it could be his last. And there’s a consistency to his contributions that you have to respect. “Every shift he gets he has an impact,” remarked Muskegon bench boss Adam Morrison in a profile posted on the Lumberjacks’ website. “Whether it’s a big hit, a takeaway, or strong communication, he makes the most out of every shift.

Born in Pierre, South Dakota, Sanderson is currently committed to jump across the state border to Fargo and play for the University of North Dakota starting in 2026-27.

201st OVERALL – KALE DACH (C)

Rounding things out at the end of a busy day and frantic weekend for Pittsburgh was the seventh-round selection of Kale Dach.

Dach (no relation to Montréal Canadiens forward Kirby Dach) played in the BCHL for the Sherwood Park Crusaders, where he piled up the second-highest point total in the league with 87 in 55 games. Most of that production came in the assist column, where he tied for the league lead with 65.

The numbers speak to his playmaking ability, but there’s a unflappable poise to the way Dach plays that really makes him stand out. Even when pressured by much bigger foes, Dach will hang in there if he knows a scoring chance will materialize. Furthermore, even if he’s not under duress, he’ll happily accept the time to survey his surroundings and then conjure a pinpoint pass.

Listed at 165 lbs. on the BCHL website, he’ll have some filling out to do. However, the Penguins can afford to be patient with a talent like Dach if it means his playmaking IQ from Junior A can make an impact in the pros someday.

Dach will play a year of major junior hockey with the Calgary Hitmen next season (as a teammate of Benjamin Kindel, coincidentally enough) before making his way to Penn State University in 2026-27. Pittsburgh won’t have to go far to keep an eye on his development at State College, and it will be fascinating to see how his sense gels with Guy Gadowsky’s high shot-volume system.