With one of the weakest prospect pools in the entire National Hockey League, the 2025 NHL Draft served as a major opportunity to help replenish the organization and start to build up the organization from the best source.

Yes, this was his third draft in charge in Pittsburgh, but this was his first real draft in charge. Allow me to explain.

In 2023, Dubas was on the job for about a month before the draft. Even though he had his eyes on the draft prior to his exit from Toronto, he was stepping into a whole new franchise with a whole different outlook.

There’s only so much so you can do in that short amount of time, and the team did not have a ton of capital to work with.

The Penguins took Brayden Yager 14th overall that season, but only made six total selections that year, and only two in the top-100. Yager, a year later, was flipped to Winnipeg for Rutger McGroarty.

Last year, Dubas more time to better scout and assess the team’s needs. But, he didn’t have a first round pick, as it belonged to San Jose as part of the Erik Karlsson trade. In all, the team only had two picks in the first three rounds in 2024 (both second rounders).

Now, in 2025, this was the first draft conducted entirely and unapologetically by Dubas, with all the picks he could possibly desire to build up the prospect pool the way he saw fit.