Penguins and Flyers make a trade on Draft floor!

Finally more than an hour and a half into the first round of the NHL Draft on Friday night, there was a trade to announce.

After selecting Benjamin Kindel with the 11th pick overall, the Pittsburgh Penguins also had the 12th pick overall. But then came NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s famous words:

We have a trade to announce.

The Penguins have traded their 12th pick to the Philadelphia Flyers in return for later picks in tonight’s round as Pittsburgh gets the 22 and 31st picks

With their new pick in hand, the Flyers selected Jack Nesbitt of the Windsor Spitfires (OHL). He is a big center who plays a solid two-way game and will get stronger once he fills out his frame. Many were surprised that the Flyers trade two first round picks to make sure they got him, but I guess they really wanted him as a Flyer.

With the 22nd selection, Pittsburgh chose center Bill Zonnon of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)

Later on, the Penguins traded the 31st and 59th overall picks in the 2025 NHL Draft to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the 24th pick. They selected left winger Will Horcoff of the University of Michigan (NCAA).