Takeaways from Day 2 of the 2025 NHL Draft

After an eventful first round of the 2025 NHL Draft, where the Penguins made three picks for the first time in over 40 years, Day 2 was just as busy.

Pittsburgh traded up to get back in the second round, selecting Peyton Kettles. They then had three third-round picks (Charlie Trethewey, Gabriel D’Aigle, Brady Peddle); one fourth-round pick (Travis Hayes); three fifth-round picks (Ryan Miller, Quinn Beauchesne, Jordan Charron); one sixth-round pick (Carter Sanderson); and one seventh-round pick (Kale Dach).

“This year was great,” said Vice President of Player Personnel Wes Clark, who spoke recently about reuniting with Kyle Dubas here in Pittsburgh. “It’s a great organization, great ownership. Thirteen picks this year, we’ve got a number of picks next year, a number of picks the year after that.

“We’ll do our best to execute on those picks and continue trying to make this club better and expedite it as quick as we can.”

The Penguins prioritized competitiveness, intelligence and hockey sense with this group. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from today.

TRADING UP TO TAKE PEYTON KETTLES

Getting drafted by the Penguins was extra special for Peyton Kettles, as the first jersey he owned was Evgeni Malkin’s.

“Definitely a cool full circle moment,” Kettles said.

While he has yet to meet the franchise center, Kettles does have familiarity with someone in the organization. He played junior hockey for the Swift Current Broncos with Penguins 2022 first-round pick Owen Pickering, a fellow Winnipeg native.

"I have a really good relationship with Owen,” Kettles said. “Started my Western League career with him, and we were D partners for a long time, so definitely happy to reunite with him.”

Like Pickering, Kettles has some height, as he measures 6-6 and 195 pounds. He had a massive growth spurt in the last few years, as Kettles was 5-5 in eighth grade. So while it’s a big advantage (pun intended), Kettles is still adjusting to his new frame.

“It's definitely a big part in how physical I am with how tall I am, but it was hard to grow into my body and to gain weight,” said Kettles, who models his game after Boston’s Brandon Carlo. “So, it's definitely something that I'm still working on.”

What’s particularly exciting about Kettles is that he moves well for being such a big fella.

“My skating, it's definitely a big part in how physical I can be,” he said. “If I'm not a good skater, I can't really catch up to those guys and beat them.”

Clark’s evalution was as follows:

“Extremely young for the draft class. 6-6. Right shot. Elite defensive stick. Super competitive. Tough. He checks a lot of boxes [as we are] trying to improve certain qualities on the back end here with the depth we have in the prospects.”

PITTSBURGH CONNECTIONS FOR CHARLIE TRETHEWEY

Defenseman Charlie Trethewey was at a loss for words hearing his name called by Pittsburgh, with dad Bob growing up in Mt. Lebanon.

“It's an unbelievable feeling to go to kind of a hometown team for me and represent the Penguins, and I'm just ready to get started,” said Charlie, whose first jersey was Sidney Crosby’s.

When Charlie was 13 years old, he and Bob moved from Maryland to western Pennsylvania so that he could play for the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Penguins Elite. They lived with Charlie’s grandpa while building a house in Cranberry, right across from the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. Once it was ready, they lived there during Charlie’s time with the youth hockey organization for the 2020-21 and ’21-22 seasons.

“Obviously having a lot of family in the area, went down for Sunday dinners and stuff like that down in Mt. Lebanon when I was with Pens Elite,” Charlie said. “I'm going to be so close to a lot of family, and I just can't wait to get started.”

Trethewey eventually moved on to the U.S. National Team Development Program, where he was teammates with Will Horcoff, drafted 24^th overall on Friday. Trethewey plans to attend Boston University this fall, where he’s looking to finetune his game. In terms of his style of play, Trethewey described himself as a two-way defenseman.

“Great gaps and blowing up plays. Then when I get the puck, good puck mover, and love to put the puck in the back of the net,” he said.

Clark said Pittsburgh likes the paths that Trethewey has taken to this point.

“Obviously, it’s a bonus when he comes up through the [Penguins Elite] program,” Clark said. “We liked the upside as a two-way guy. He makes a really good first pass. Strong defensively. Intelligent. Competitive.”

TRAVIS HAYES JOINS BROTHER AVERY

Back in March, the Penguins signed Avery Hayes to his first NHL contract after he initially joined the organization as an undrafted free agent on an AHL-only deal.

We were recently chatting about his journey, and during the conversation, Avery mentioned his younger brother Travis played for the Soo Greyhounds and was up for the draft this year.

“Hopefully, he comes here. That would be really cool,” Avery said.

Pittsburgh ended up drafting Travis in the fourth round (105^th overall), another incredible moment for the Hayes family. All four boys play hockey. Gavin, the oldest, was drafted by Chicago in 2022 and currently plays for Rockford of the American Hockey League, while Eli, the youngest, plays AAA hockey in their home state of Michigan.

Clark said the family resemblance is strong between Avery and Travis.

“Travis is super competitive,” Clark said. “Hungry. Really good shooter. Loves to score goals. Strong at the net. So very similar to Avery. Underdog mindset. Yeah, like the upside.”