Did Ron Hextall Do the Penguins a Solid in the Draft?

As a rule, giving credit to former general manager Ron Hextall in any way, shape or form isn’t the way to make friends or influence people in these parts. Nor will it win you any popularity contests among the black-and-gold faithful.

Indeed, the former Philly GM is generally regarded by Penguins Nation as a villain or worse…the man responsible for expediting the end of our glorious postseason run through a combination of bungled trades and poor personnel decisions.

Public Enemy No. 1.

Truth be told, Hextall was given an uber-challenging (and unreasonable) mandate to keep the team competitive while restocking our barren prospect pool. In hindsight, a near impossible task.

However, when all is said and done, could Hexy have done us a solid or two at the draft table?

The answer just might be yes.

Keep in mind he had very little to work with thanks to his predecessor Jim Rutherford. Indeed, GMJR peddled draft picks in a scorched-earth fashion with little apparent thought to the long-term consequences. Perhaps it was his plan all along to skedaddle when the well ran dry.

Indeed, at the 2021 Entry Draft, Hextall had but five picks. A second rounder, a fifth-rounder and three seventh-rounders.

The following draft wasn’t much better. GMRH did have a first-round pick at his disposal, followed by a fourth-rounder, a fifth-rounder and two sixth-round selections.

Ten picks in all, with only two representing prime or semi-prime spots. Here’s the haul. Current ages are shown.

It’s highly unlikely we’ll ever see or hear from Devlin, Laatsch or Tankov, an intriguing pick who missed nearly all of ’22-23 recovering from a broken neck in his native Russia.

The rights to Collins and McCleary, a pair of big defensemen, were not retained by Kyle Dubas. The choice on the latter is a bit of a head-scratcher given that McCleary seemed to progress well, outscoring his high-profile Swift Current teammate, Pickering, 11 goals to seven last season while providing a physical presence.

On the flip side of the coin, several of Hextall’s selections may make the grade, including Broz, his very first pick.

Following a rough start to his collegiate career that resulted in a transfer from the University of Minnesota to the University of Denver, the speedy left wing showed steady improvement. Culminating in a 16-goal, 40-point season (in 43 games) and a National Championship with the Pioneers. One he helped mightily to attain by potting two overtime goals in the NCAA tournament.

Here’s what Elite Prospects had to say about the 200-pound left wing.

Broz is a player with an attacking mentality. He’s like a shark sniffing out blood in the water when he’s off-the-puck in the offensive zone, circling the perimeter, waiting for soft ice to emerge, or charging headlong to the net-front as low-to-high passing plays develop. He reads developing plays, creates options for his linemates, and adapts well during cycle plays.

Watching highlights of Broz, I concur. He’s shifty and creative in open ice, but doesn’t hesitate to attack the net when the opportunity presents itself. He doesn’t seem shy about venturing into the dirty areas, either.

Perhaps a solid middle-sixer with a second-line upside along the lines of Drew O’Connor.

Pickering, likewise, is turning pro. The rangy defenseman, who reportedly has sprouted to 6’5” while upping his weight to 200 pounds, reminds me a little of former NHL great Chris Pronger in the way he moves and comports himself on the ice, sans the physicality. Pickering possesses good mobility and offensive instincts, as noted by Elite Prospects.

The core of Pickering’s game is what he does with the puck. On retrievals, he deceives, cuts back, then sprints to the inside. With head fakes and changes of pace, he misdirects forecheckers and then hits a teammate up the ice. When he’s not leading the rush, he’s joining it. And that activation interacts with his projectable shot and exciting playmaking flashes.

Although his points progression in junior was a bit flat-line for management’s taste, the tools and intangibles (he served as Swift Current’s captain) are certainly there for Pickering make a splash at the NHL level. If not now, then a couple years down the road.

As for Murashov? He drew rave reviews at the Pens’ recent prospect development camp after dominating the Russian junior league for the better part of the past four seasons.

Here’s Corey Pronman’s analysis from 2023.

Murashov was a top goalie in Russia’s junior league last season. He’s a super intelligent goalie who tracks and anticipates the puck like a pro. He’s aggressive and knows when to challenge at the right times. Murashov isn’t that big, though, and while he moves fine the lack of high-end athleticism is the question I have about him at the NHL given his frame.

My impression from watching video clips of Murashov somewhat dovetails with Pronman’s observations. To my admittedly untrained eye, there’s something awkward about his style that I can’t quite put my finger on. When he crouches low into his butterfly stance there seems to be a lot of net to shoot at, and he seems to play deep in his net at times. Nor does he appear to possess the cat-quick reflexes of an Alex Nedeljkovic. Yet Murashov always seems to get there in time to make the save, as his dazzling numbers will attest.

Others who might make the grade at some point?

Plante, a water-bug forward with skill and pedigree (71 points for Fargo of the USHL), and Belliveau, an offensive-minded blueliner (38 points at Wheeling).

A final word on Hextall. Again, there’s a tendency in these parts to minimize his achievements and totally dismiss him. However, while serving as an assistant GM in LA he received a great deal of credit for helping to build the Kings’ Stanley Cup winners. And it’s worth noting that four of Philly’s top five scorers last season, Travis Konecny, Joel Farabee, Travis Sanheim and Morgan Frost, were Hextall selections. Seven of his other picks also saw action for the Flyers, including goalie Samuel Ersson, a seventh-round choice. Rather remarkable when you consider he was dismissed as their GM way back in November 2018.

By comparison? Only two of Rutherford’s picks, Sam Poulin and Valtteri Puustinen, played for the Pens last season.

Overall, a rather remarkable 28 of the 40 players Hextall drafted in Philly have played at least one game in the NHL. Ten have played in at least 100 NHL games.

Again by comparison, only 11 of the 35 players drafted by JR during his tenure in the ‘Burgh have made it to the NHL, with Kasperi Kapanen, Filip Gustavsson and Daniel Sprong the most successful. Only six have played in at least 100 NHL games.

Does any of this guarantee the likes of Broz, Pickering and Murashov will eventually pan out?

No.

But given Hextall’s decent record at the draft table, I wouldn’t bet against them.