Starting with Harrison Brunicke, Penguins go heavy on defense on Day 2 of the 2024 NHL draft

The Penguins added two more right-shot defensemen with their next two picks.

With the 111th selection in the fourth round, they selected Chase Pietila. Pietila, 20, plays at Michigan Tech. Listed at 6-2 and 186 pounds, he had 22 points in 40 games in 2023-24. Previously, he played for Youngstown of the USHL.

Two rounds later, at No. 175 overall, the Penguins picked up Joona Vaisanen, 19. Another overager, he is from Finland but played for Dubuque of the USHL in 2023-24. He had nine goals and 40 points in 53 games for the Fighting Saints. His coach was Kirk MacDonald, the new Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach.

“I saw [Kirk] this week at the draft, and Kirk said very, very positive things about him as a player and as a person,” Pryor said. “So it only added to our information that we had and made us feel every better about selecting Joona.”

While the Penguins’ prospect pool had been lacking right-shot defensemen, Pryor said the team did not go into the weekend looking to hammer that position.

“Obviously, we talk about what we have and what we don’t have, and what we would like to add,” he said. “With where we are right now, we want to add to kind of every position in our prospect pool. So I’d say that was more the way the board fell. It just so happened that right-shot D, we were able to add to that.”

Their two seventh-round picks were Mac Swanson, a pint-sized forward who is the reigning USHL player of the year, and another CHL defender, Finn Harding.

Pryor grinned slyly when he talked about Swanson, gushing, “Just a really exciting player to watch. He’s small but he’s competitive, and he’s highly skilled and highly intelligent. So we were excited to get him, especially where we got him.”

Between the last two Penguins picks, Peters Township product Christian Humphreys was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche, a few rounds later than projected.

All six players the Penguins selected will be invited to next week’s annual prospect development camp, though Vaisanen is over in Finland and might not attend.

Brunicke, this year’s top pick for the Penguins, said he planned to savor the rest of his draft weekend before he embarked on his path from the draft to the NHL.

“[There’s] a lot of emotions. Waiting to get your name called and it finally comes,” the defenseman said. “The next chapter starts now and the hard work begins.”

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