Who did the Penguins select during the 2026 NHL Draft? See the full list of Pittsburgh's picks.
The Pittsburgh Penguins made six selections over seven rounds during the two-day 2026 NHL Entry Draft at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
Pittsburgh had three selections in the first two rounds, including No. 22 in Friday's first round, which kicked off at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Rounds 2-7 took place on Saturday afternoon.
Pittsburgh is coming off its first playoff appearance since 2022, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in six games in the first round. It was quite the turnaround for the Penguins and first-year coach Dan Muse, who was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award. Muse led the Penguins to a 41-25-16 record and 98 points.
Penn State's Gavin McKenna was selected No. 1 overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
See all of the Penguins' 2026 NHL draft moves below.
Who did the Penguins draft?
Liam Ruck, Forward, First Round, Pick 22
The Penguins selected Liam Ruck in Friday's first round. The 18-year-old forward played for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League last season, tallying 45 goals and 59 assists in 68 games. Since joining the Tigers for the 2023-24 season, Ruck has 71 goals and 76 assists in 132 games.
The 6-foot, 174-pounder has a right-handed shot and is from British Columbia's Okanagan Valley.
"With high-end hockey IQ, he is a versatile offensive player who can score at the net front and fire passes to shooters in space," ESPN said about the selection of Ruck.
The Penguins said Ruck is scheduled to return to Medicine Hat for the 2026-27 season and is committed to the University of North Dakota for the 2027-28 season.
Liam Ruck's twin brother, Markus Ruck, is expected to be drafted this year as well.
Markus Ruck, Forward, Round 2, Pick 39
The Penguins completed the set in the second round, taking forward Markus Ruck, brother of first-round pick Liam Ruck, 39th overall.
Like his brother, Markus spent last season with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Hockey League, where he scored 21 goals and 108 points in 68 games. In the playoffs, he scored 4 goals and 13 points in 15 games.
Both brothers are expected to return to the WHL next year and will play in the NCAA the following year at North Dakota in 2027-28.
According to reporting from the NHL Scouting Combine earlier this year, the Ruck twins made it clear to teams that in their lives, they've never spent more than four days apart, and they wanted to be drafted by the same team.
Now, they've got their wish.
Tomas Galvas, Defenseman, Round 2, Pick 54
The Penguins picked 20-year-old Czech defenseman Tomas Galvas with the 54th overall pick.
This was Galvas' third year of eligibility in the NHL Draft after going undrafted the last two years.
In the 2025-26 season, he spent time playing professional hockey in Czechia, and in 32 games, he scored 8 goals and 24 points.
Galvas also spent a lot of time with the Czech national team, playing at the World Championships and World Junior Championships.
Across 47 games with the national program, he scored six goals and 26 points in total.
Pierce Mbuyi, Forward, Round 3, Pick 86
In the third round, the Penguins picked Pierce Mbuyi from the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL. Mbuyi led the OHL in power-play goals this past season with 19.
Overall, Mbuyi scored 32 goals and 75 points in 68 games. He recorded just one goal in 4 playoff games with the Attack.
Mbuyi is committed to playing at Penn State in the 2026-27 season.
Parker Von Richter, Defenseman, Round 4, Pick 111
The Penguins announced a trade during the fourth round, sending their 2026 sixth-round pick (170th) overall and their 2027 fourth-round pick to the Boston Bruins in exchange for the 111th overall pick in the 2026 draft.
With the pick, the Penguins selected Parker Von Richter from the Barrie Colts in the OHL. Von Richter spent the 2025-26 season between the Colts and the Brampton Steelheads. In total, he scored 12 goals and 49 points in 66 games.
According to his Elite Prospect page, Von Richter is 6'1", 194 pounds, and 20 years old.
Next season, Von Richter will head to the NCAA, where he'll play for the University of New Hampshire.
Matvei Nikonovich, Goalie, Round 5, Pick 160
The Penguins made another trade on day two of the draft, this time sending their 2026 fifth-round pick to the Nashville Predators in exchange for the 160th overall pick.
After acquiring the pick from the Predators, the Penguins selected Belarusian goaltender Matvei Nikonovich.
The 17-year-old goalie spent last year with Ladia Togliatti, a team that has since disbanded, according to reports, but in 38 games, Nikonovich recorded a 1.96 GAA and a .939 save percentage.
Who did the Penguins draft last year?
In the 2025 NHL draft, Pittsburgh made three selections in the first round last year: Ben Kindel (No. 11 overall), Bill Zonnon (No. 22 overall) and Will Horcoff (No. 24). It was a busy draft for Pittsburgh, which made 10 additional picks in Rounds 2-7. Peyton Kettles was taken in the second round, while Charlton Trethewe and Gabriel D'Aigle were selected in the third round.
Penguins offseason trades
The Penguins have made two trades so far this offseason. On Thursday, the team sent a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick to the Washington Capitals for forward Hendrix Lapierre. The 24-year-old tallied 16 points last season. He is a pending restricted free agent.
On June 13, they sent prospect Emil Pieniniemi to the Florida Panthers in exchange for prospect Oliver Okuliar. The 26-year-old Slovakian acquired by the Penguins was set to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1, but just two days after he was acquired by the team, he signed a one-year, $850,000 contract.
This past season, Okuliar played in the Swedish professional league, scoring 15 goals and 29 points in 46 games. His most recent North American experience came in the 2024-25 season with the AHL's Charlotte Checkers, where he recorded 19 goals and 41 points in 69 games.