According to a team announcement, the Los Angeles Kings have traded the 24th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 31st and 59th overall selections. Using the pick, the Penguins selected Will Horcoff from the University of Michigan.
Horcoff, the son of longtime Edmonton Oiler Shawn Horcoff, had a split season during the 2024-25 campaign. He began the year with the United States National Team Development Program in Plymouth, MI, scoring eight goals and 14 points in 28 games with a +5 rating.
After making the short trip to Ann Arbor, MI, for the second half of the season, Horcoff finished his first year with the Wolverines with four goals and 10 points in 18 contests. He also performed well on the international stage, scoring two goals and four points in seven games for Team USA at the U18 World Junior Championship.
Unfortunately, few believed that Horcoff had the necessary offensive talent to warrant a first-round selection, with several mocks projecting him to fall to the second round. Still, at 6’4″, he’ll immediately add size and physicality to the Penguins system, and is arguably one of, if not the best, defensive forward available at this year’s draft. At any rate, it’ll be a few years before Pittsburgh sees the value in this pick, as Horcoff is expected to return to Michigan in the fall.
Man, I do not like this draft for PIT.
Kids a good athlete.
I like this pick but it’s cold comfort after so many reaches and refusing to chase upside.
Dubas loves to outsmart himself.
Impossible to say yet. This draft is a crapsshoot to begin with.
I wouldn’t get ahead of yourself. Kindel has huge upside albeit a bit of a risk. Horcoff projects to be a quality little sizer and a high floor which pretty well all players from 20 and on project to be. There are some high risk high upside players left and I have no doubt Pittsburg grabs one or two of them in rounds 2 and onward.
*middle sixer man apple phones auto correct is one of the worst programs I’ve ever seen.
Then they use an early second on a 3rd pairing defenceman
Does Dubas realize if you trade down then up it doesn’t do anything?
Wiz kid thinks he’s smarter than everyone else. But right now he’s looking pretty dumb with these reaches.
It’s fine to want to copy a style of play but that doesn’t mean you waste premium picks to reach for players to fit that style. Could have traded back from these draft slots and still had these players
Dubas is play 3-D chess… unfortunately, the game is checkers.
Okay well I was wrong the pens took big hard to play against guys that project as bottom of lineup guys. Outside of Kindel and Horcoff a very disappointing draft for them. I do think this is an overreaction by teams seeing anyone who plays gritty and thinking they have FLAs formula for success. Unfortunately you need guys who are gonna score and create offence. Those gritty guys are helpful but what’s more helpful is when they can also score. Lots of hits won’t get you into the post season