Trying to find value in formerly highly touted players unable to find consistency at the NHL level, the Pittsburgh Penguins roster typically features at least one or two reclamation projects–hoping a change of scenery helps establish a footing in the NHL. The 2024-25 roster features three players–all former first round picks–hoping to bounce back after forgettable seasons in Anthony Beauvillier, Jesse Puljujarvi and Cody Glass with all, so far, making decent contributions throughout the lineup and comparing favorably to recent reclamation projects.
Anthony Beauvillier
2015, 1st Round (28th Overall)
Anthony Beauvillier made the 2016-17 New York Islanders only a year after being taken 28th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and recorded 24 points in 66 games. Beauvillier scored 21 goals and recorded 36 points the next season and peaked at 39 points in 68 games in 2019-20, developing into a fairly consistent 30-point producer. After being traded to Vancouver in in the 2022-23 season, Beauvillier managed a career-high of 40 points between the two teams, but injury and stints with three different teams last season–Vancouver, Chicago, and Nashville–led to only 17 points in 60 games. Now 27 years old with eight seasons of NHL experience, Beauvillier hopes to continue to build chemistry with Sidney Crosby.
Jesse Puljujarvi
2016, 1st Round (4th Overall)
Drafted a year after Beauvillier, Jesse Puljujarvi never lived up to the hype of a player drafted fourth overall, but appears to be content with a middle to bottom six role using a 6’4” frame to play with some physicality. The big 6’4”, 201 lbs. winger joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season on a tryout contract after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery and eventually earned a contract at the NHL level. Puljujarvi only managed three goals and four points in 22 NHL games last season, but stood out in the 2024 preseason and, despite being a healthy scratch for the third game of the season, Puljujarvi already boasts two points in four games after breaking 30 points once and 20 points twice in parts of six seasons with the Edmonton Oilers and managed only two assists in 17 appearances with the Carolina Hurricanes last season.
Cody Glass
2017, 1st Round (6th Overall)
Cody Glass recorded 35 points in 72 games with the Nashville Predators only two years ago, but managed only 13 points in 41 games last season. The Predators actually incentivized the Penguins to take Glass with a third round pick in exchange for Jordan Frasca–a throwaway prospect deep in the system. Despite being the sixth overall pick in 2017 and recording 292 points in 239 games in the WHL, Glass now appears to be on track to settle in as a middle to bottom six forward at the NHL level, a huge asset on the penalty kill, and the ability to generate some secondary scoring. So far, centering a line mostly with Kevin Hayes and Noel Acciari, Glass looks to be a nice fixture in the bottom six.
Successful Reclamation Projects
Justin Schultz
2008, 2nd Round (34th Overall)
After dominating college hockey with the Wisconsin Badgers, Justin Schultz recorded 27 point in 48 games as a rookie with the Edmonton Oilers and 48 points in 34 AHL games in the AHL after joining the professional ranks for the 2012-13 season. Production slipped slightly the following season with 33 points in 74 games and again to 31 points in 81 games in 2014-15 before bottoming out with 10 points in 45 games and a -22 plus/minus rating in 2015-16. Schultz joined the Penguins in exchange for a third round pick in 2016, recorded eight points in 18 regular season games and won the Stanley Cup with the team. The next season, Schultz recorded a career-high 51 points in 78 regular season games, and with Kris Letang injured for the playoffs, stepped up and recorded 13 points in 21 games to help the Penguins win a second consecutive Stanley Cup. Schultz went on to remain a serviceable blueliner for three more seasons with the Penguins, two with the Washington Capitals and two with the Seattle Kraken, never matching the 2016-17 output, but remaining a serviceable defenseman despite nearly looking on the way out of the NHL only the year before joining the Penguins.
Jared McCann
2014, 1st Round (24th Overall)
A first round pick being traded to a third team before turning 24 years old usually indicates some red flags, but the Penguins brought in McCann as part of a larger trade with the Florida Panthers after failing to make a significant jump on 28 points in 68 games in 2017-18 to 18 points in 46 games the next season. McCann responded well to the trade, scoring 11 goals and putting up 17 points in 32 games to close the season, and continued to trend in the right direction, averaging 0.53 and 0.74 points per game over the next two seasons with Pittsburgh. In a somewhat controversial decision, the Penguins traded McCann to the Toronto Maple Leafs to recoup some assets instead of exposing the former first rounder in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft. McCann joined the Kraken went on to lead the team in goals and points for the next three seasons–scoring 96 goals and recording 182 points in 233 games through the 202324 season.
Failed Reclamation Projects
Alex Nylander
2016, 1st Round (8th Overall)
On paper, trading a former sixth round pick for a former top 10 pick looks like a steal, but the Penguins arguably probably lost a deal sending Sam Lafferty to the Chicago Blackhawks for 2016 eighth overall pick Alex Nylander. After scoring 10 goals and recording 26 points in 65 games with the Chicago Blackhawks in a first full NHL season at 22 years old in the 2019-20 season, a knee injury and 2020-21 season missed due to recovery led to Nylander being shopped by Chicago The Penguins sent Lafferty–a bottom six player unable at the time to consistently stay in the NHL lineup–to the Blackhawks, hoping Nylander returned to form. Nylander went on to appear in only 14 NHL games with the organization over parts of three seasons, despite posting 112 points in 142 AHL games in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Penguins traded Nylander to the Columbus Blue Jackets near the end of the 2023-24 season, and despite 11 goals in 23 games with the Blue Jackets, Nylander signed a minor league contract with the Maple Leafs organization for the 2024-25 season. Conversely, Lafferty emerged as solid bottom six forward at the NHL level, appearing in 195 NHL games and recording 62 points.
Ty Smith
2018, 1st Round (17th Overall)
In another roll of the dice in trade market, the Penguins sent John Marino to the New Jersey Devils to avoid singing the blueliner to a large contract, and received Ty Smith in return after the former first 17th overall pick regressed slightly after being named to the NHL All-Rookie team the year prior. The Penguins sent Smith to the AHL to get top pairing minutes, but never really gave Smith the opportunity to play at the NHL level. Smith appeared in nine NHL games, recording four points, and posted 24 points in 39 AHL games in 2022-23. The next season, Smith never appeared at the NHL level but led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with 43 points in 63 games. The Penguins tacked on Smith, now 24 years old, as part of the Jake Guentzel trade. Marino managed 42 points in 139 games over the next two seasons with New Jersey after signing a healthy $4.4 million contract.
Ryan Poehling
2017, 1st Round (25th Overall)
The Penguins traded Mike Matheson and a fourth round pick to the Montreal Canadiens for Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling after the 2021-22 season. Poehling managed 17 points in 57 games with the Montreal Canadiens as a rookie, and the Penguins hoped the 2017 first round pick continued to develop into a good option for the middle to bottom six. Poehling managed only 14 points in 53 games in the 2022-23 season and signed with the Philadelphia Flyers after not receiving a qualifying offer from Pittsburgh. Poehling enjoyed a bit of a resurgence last season with the Flyers, recording 28 points in 77 games and still only 25 years old looks to still be on track to fill out the bottom six at the NHL level.
Jansen Harkins
2015, 2nd Round (47th Overall)
After recording 50 points in 44 games with the Manitoba Moose in 2022-23, the Pittsburgh Penguins claimed Jansen Harkins off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets prior to the start of the 2023-24 season and arguably waited too long for the former second round pick to find consistency at the NHL level, recording only four assists in 45 games. Harkins played two full seasons with the Jets, recording 15 points in 103 games, prior to being sent down to the AHL.