Pittsburgh's four selections on Saturday followed its first-round selection of
Samuel Poulin
on Friday. The forward from the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League was selected with the 21st-overall pick.
The Penguins moved up to select forward Nathan Legare with the 74th-overall pick in the second round. The Penguins traded the 98th, 151st and 207th-overall picks to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for the earlier selection.
Legare, 18, had an explosive second season with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the QMJHL in 2018-19. The 6-foot, 206-pound Legare ranked second (tied) and eighth in the QMJHL in goals (45) and points (87), respectively. In 130 career games over two seasons with Baie-Comeau, the forward recorded 55 goals, 61 assists and 116 points with a career plus-33.
The Montreal, Quebec native represented Canada, alongside Pens' first-round pick Poulin, at the 2019 Under-18 World Championship. Legare finished third (tied) on the team with four goals in seven games.
In Round 5, the Penguins selected forward Judd Caulfield from the United States National Team Development Program with the 145th-overall selection. A two-year player with the NTDP, Caulfield recorded 26 goals, 48 assists and 74 points in 123 career games, including 36 points (12G-24A) this past season. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Caulfield skated in seven games during the 2019 Under-18 World Championship, winning the bronze medal. The Grand Forks, ND native is committed to the University of North Dakota in 2019-20.
Pittsburgh selected forward Valtteri Puustinen with the 203rd-overall pick in the seventh round. The 5-foot-9, 183-pound Puustinen played the majority of the 2018-19 season with HPK of Liiga, Finland's top professional league, recording 13 points (10G-3A) in 47 games. Puustinen notched five points (2G-3A) in 16 playoff games this season helping the club win Liiga's championship. The Kuopio, Finland native is teammates with current Penguins' prospects Emil Larmi and Niclas Almari on HPK.
The Penguins' final selection of the draft was defenseman Santeri Airola with the 211th-overall selection, which was acquired from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a 2020 seventh-round pick. The 5-foot-11, 163-pound Airola played the majority of the season on SaiPa's Under-20 team of Jr. A SM-liiga. The Imatra, Finland native led all defensemen on his team and ranked fifth among all SaiPa U-20 skaters with 31 points (4G-27A) in 41 games. Airola, 18, also made his Liiga debut with SaiPa, appearing in three games.
