The 2012 NHL Draft starts Friday, and the Pittsburgh Penguins have the 22nd pick in the first round. As for who the Penguins might select, mock drafts are working hard to make those predictions. The latest 2012 NHL Mock Draft from SBNation is unfolding, and the Penguins turned in their pick on Monday.
Represented by the bloggers from PensBurg, SB Nation's Penguins blog. And with the 22nd pick in the mock draft, the Penguins select:
Slater Koekkoek, D, Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League.
Here is how PensBurgh described the pick:
Our rationale: it's another defenseman, true, but compared to the players still available at 22nd in this mock draft, we weren't too excited about taking a forward that projects to a 3rd line player. In our opinion, better to keep stocking up on defensemen who can skate well, move the puck well and have the potential to be top 4 NHL defensemen. Koekkoek seems a little riskier than your average prospect, but for who's left, he seemingly also has a higher potential ceiliing to be able to reach.
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