Playing NHL18 and scrolling through the list of available free agents I often find myself thinking “Wow, I remember when the Pens had that guy…” so I was wondering what ever happened to some of the former Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks. Last year I did something similar, inspired by the success of undrafted free agents like Sheary and Rowney I took a look back at Development/Rookie Camp invites. There has been quite a lot of roster turnover the past few seasons, and quite a lot of front office and staff turnover as well for that matter.
For the Camp invites I only went back as far as the summer of 2013 because the lockout the prior year also impacted the summer activities that the teams normally do. However for draft picks I’m going to need to go back further. For one thing most of the recent years picks are still in the system, but also with their tendency to trade off picks there are fewer draft picks to examine than there were guys invited to Camp. So primarily we are going to be looking at 2014 and earlier, the years Shero’s scouting staff was in charge.
Goaltenders
Sean Maguire – 2012 4th (#113)
He was traded to the Arizona Coyotes back in December, finishing out the season in the ECHL with the Fort Wayne Komets and Utah Grizzlies. He is an RFA this summer and so far hasn’t gotten much playing time at the AHL level so who knows what path his career will take moving forward.
Defensemen
Ryan Segalla – 2013 4th (#119)
He was not signed by Pittsburgh after he graduated from college but they opted to keep him in the system by signing him to an AHL deal in Wilkes-Barre. He spent the majority of the 2016-17 season with the Wheeling Nailers and then opted to look elsewhere in free agency this summer. This past season he started with the ECHL Adirondack Thunder and then was traded to the Norfolk Admirals, although he played just 10 games over the entire year so it is uncertain what his future holds.
Derrick Pouliot – 2012 1st (#8)
He signed an extension over the summer but the Pens picked up Hunwick and decided to trade Pouliot to the Vancouver Canucks at the start of the season. He spent the entire year in the NHL, skating #4/5 minutes with significant PP time and set career highs in goals and points (he was the #2 scoring D on his team). It remains to be seen what he will do next season, but his future still looks quite bright.
Clark Seymour – 2012 5th (#143)
He was not signed by Pittsburgh when his Junior career was finished but they opted to keep him in the system by signing him to an AHL deal in Wilkes-Barre where he spent two seasons bouncing up and down between there and the ECHL Wheeling Nailers. In 2016 he went off to play in Italy for a year with Bolzano and then returned this past season playing on an ECHL deal with the Florida Everblades.
Joe Morrow – 2011 1st (#23)
He was traded to the Dallas Stars in 2013 and a few months later was on the move again to the Boston Bruins. He spent four seasons bouncing up and down between the NHL and AHL Providence, then this past summer signed a 1-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens. He spent the entire season in the NHL and at the trade deadline was moved to the Winnipeg Jets where he has been a #6/7 D.
Scott Harrington – 2011 2nd (#54)
He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015 as part of the Kessel deal and split the season between the NHL and the AHL Marlies. The following summer his rights were traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets and he has played the past two seasons primarily in the NHL as a #7 D and still has another year left on his contract.
Joe Rogalski – 2010 6th (#152)
He went unsigned by the Pens and returned for an overage season then signed with the ECHL Bakersfield Condors when his Junior career was over. He was released by Bakersfield early on in the 2012-13 season and then decided to go to school at the University of Windsor in Ontario. He has since retired from playing and has tried his hand at coaching, serving as HC of the ACHA Tier-III SUNY-Fredonia.
Reid McNeill – 2010 6th (#170)
He was traded to the St. Louis Blues during the 2016-17 season and spent the remainder of the season with the AHL Chicago Wolves. This past summer he signed an AHL deal with the Syracuse Crunch. He is a free agent this summer and at this point it doesn’t look as if he will ever be anything more than an AHL D.
Forwards
Kasperi Kapanen – 2014 1st (#22)
He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015 as part of the Kessel trade and has spent the past three seasons bouncing around between the NHL Maple Leafs and AHL Marlies. Because of the Entry Level Slide rule he has one more year left on his contract and he is still waiver exempt so he could return to the AHL again next year if they need him to. Although the numbers he put up down there he does seem like he is ready to move up.
Jaden Lindo – 2014 6th (#173)
The Pens did not sign Lindo Calrissian and lost his player rights in 2016. He opted to return for an overage season and then at the conclusion of is Junior career took advantage of the scholarship to get an education at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
Blaine Byron – 2013 6th (#179)
He chose not to sign with the Penguins after the conclusion of his college career, deciding he would rather take his chances as a free agent. He signed an AHL deal with the Springfield Thunderbirds this past season.
Oskar Sundqvist – 2012 3rd (#81)
His player rights were traded to the St. Louis Blues this summer and he signed a 1-year extension with them. He spent the majority of the season up in the NHL skating 4th line minutes with a little bit of work on both the PK and the PP, although he was a tertiary option for both. It still remains to be seen what he does this summer but he looks like he could be a viable 4th liner or #13 F for an NHL team.
Matia Marcantuoni – 2012 4th (#92)
He was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in 2016 and after spending less than a year playing for their AHL club he decided to hang up the skates and has retired from playing hockey.
Anton Zlobin – 2012 6th (#173)
After three years playing in the minors with AHL Wilkes-Barre and ECHL Wheeling Nailers he opted to return home to play in Russia. He spent the past two seasons under contract with Dynamo Moskva, although the majority of it was down in the minor league VHL rather than up in the KHL. He is a free agent this summer but most likely will remain in Europe.
Dominik Uher – 2011 5th (#144)
After spending four seasons mostly in the AHL he decided to head back home and spent the past two seasons playing for Sparta Praha in the Czech Extraliga. He has now signed a 2-year contract to play for the Fischtown Pinguins in the German DEL.
Josh Archibald – 2011 6th (#174)
He was traded to the Arizona Coyotes back in December and was used as a 4th liner with limited work on the PK. He still has another year left on his contract.
Scott Wilson – 2011 7th (#209)
He was traded to the Detroit Red Wings at the start of the season win order to get the Pens a new 3rd line center and after an unimpressive performance was acquired by Botterill for the Buffalo Sabres. He skated 3rd line minutes with time on the PK and is looking for a new contract this summer.
Beau Bennett – 2010 1st (#20)
His player rights were traded to Shero in 2016 and he signed on playing a year for the New Jersey Devils. This past summer he signed a 1-year deal with the St. Louis Blues although he spent the majority of the season down in the AHL playing for the Chicago Wolves. He is a free agent again this summer and may now be at the point where he will finish his career as an AHL veteran.
Kenny Agostino – 2010 5th (#140)
He was traded to the Calgary Flames back in 2014 as part of the Iginla trade and spent two seasons mostly playing for their AHL affiliates Adirondack Flames/Stockton Heat. He then signed 1-year with the St. Louis Blues spending the majority of the season with the AHL Chicago Wolves and this past summer signed 1-year with the Boston Bruins spending the majority of the season with AHL Providence. He is up for another contract this summer and has posted exceptional numbers at the minor league level.
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