The Pittsburgh Penguins must like something about defenceman from the Swift Current Broncos.
Pittsburgh picked Broncos defenceman Peyton Kettles today with their 2nd round pick, 39th overall in the NHL Draft.
The Penguins also picked former Broncos Captain Owen Pickering in the 1st round of the 2021 NHL Draft.
"Really happy for Petyon," said Broncos GM Chad Leslie. "He's been through a lot to get to this point. He's a player that has a lot of ceiling to develop. He's worked very hard. We are very proud of him."
Pittsburgh made a move to ensure they could lock up Kettles.
They traded Conor Timmins and Issac Belliveau to Buffalo for Connor Clifton and the 39th overall pick in the draft.
"It's really special to hear my name called by Pittsburgh," Kettles said in a media availability after the draft. "To know their history and know their success."
Kettles had 14 points in 53 games for Swift Current in his sophomore WHL season.
"Playing a lot of minutes in Swift really helped me a lot," Kettles said. "To showcase my skill and what kind of player I'm going to be at the next level."
The Winnipeg native is listed at 6'6" and 195lbs. He attended the recent NHL combine.
"Takes up a ton of space, defends well and is decently mobile for his size," said Steven Ellis, Prospect Analyst for the Daily Faceoff in a post on X. "He can kill penalties, and I actually think he’s better offensively than his 14 points suggest. Shutdown defender."
He was Swift Current's 1st round pick, 6th overall in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft.
Kettles has already played 116 games for the Broncos and faced some challenging matchups while helping anchor a young blue line.
Pickering made his NHL debut with the Penguins in November.