Wes Clark Media Availability (06.28.25) | Pittsburgh Penguins
you selected Charlie Trethway in the third round obviously a product of the Pensite program uh had some Pittsburgh roots just what went behind that selection
well Charlie came into the year uh with big expectations a projected first round pick national program kid going to be um we like the upside as a two-way guy makes a really good first pass strong defensively intelligent competitive uh like the path so I mean it’s obviously a bonus when he comes up to the Junior Penguins program i was talking with Avery the other week about and he said he had a brother who was draft eligible to it was really it would be really cool if the Penguins could take him so I’m sure he’s very excited but for Pence fans who don’t know um what Travis brings how would you sort of describe um you know the the package that he is
probably not too dissimilar to to his brother super competitive hungry he’s a really good shooter loves to score goals and strong at the net so very similar to Avery underdog mindset um yeah like the like the upside
you drafted a couple connections to current Penguins owen Pickering’s former D partner Tanner House former line i mean Avery Hayes’s brother is that something that was intentional or just how it it played out yeah I think just how how it played out to be honest um yeah lucky to get to get uh big Payton Kettles and obviously big Ben Kindle there in the first so um just circumstance
can you tell us more about what you like about Kettles in particular and you know especially trading up to to get him
extremely young for for the draft class uh 6’6 right shot uh elite defensive stick super competitive tough i mean checks a lot of the boxes uh trying to improve uh certain qualities on the back end here with the depth we have and the prospects you made 13 picks which is the most the team has made in more than 30 years um what does kind of that injection of just sheer depth do for your system and when you look at the group I mean are there any common themes that stand out i mean seems like any with all of them or most of them competitiveness is one thing you guys talk about a lot
yeah competitiveness is uh is is extremely important that and intelligence hockey sense um yeah 13 picks is a lot they’re not all going to work out um obviously uh the more lottery tickets you have uh increases your chances to hopefully hit so um yeah we’ll see as time progresses with the development staff with TK and all the new bodies that we have in the system uh be interesting to see uh who develops quicker than others and who can get there at the end
wes you uh drafted Ben Kindle obviously 11th overall that might have surprised some kyle said you were on him kind of all last season what did you see in him and the progression that made you want to you know take him at 11
uh extreme characteristic of his intelligence hockey sense relative to this class is elite um 99 points understands the game at a super high level um just big belief in Ben in terms of the upside uh influences the game on both sides of the puck um yeah we think the upside is skyhigh and we’ll do our best to help help him improve in the areas he needs to improve in and and uh see where it goes
what about the other two first rounders well Billy Zan Billy Zan is a high work rate highly competitive played center this year has played wing in the past uh tremendous athletic upside uh got to know him a little bit there in Buffalo you see the look in his eye he’s got that dog mindset so I type of kid that helps you win hockey games
the goalender D I hope I said that correctly played for the worst team the queue last year at least by record what about him in that situation allowed you to the rise to maybe be a guy you won in the draft
uh our goalie guy Sir John Elen uh uh had him really high on the board so uh we trust John with the goalie evaluations we try to stay out of that uh and it just lined up where we were able to get him to answer your question on on Billy Horov um Billy Horov you know the progression in his game from the start of the year to the end of the year from going to the program to Michigan was immense um super athletic at 6’5 still very early in his development curve um and the mentorship and guidance that obviously he’s gotten from his old man is is is a big benefit and I think that will only go leaps and bounds for for for Billy there as he continues to develop but love the upside there
carter Sanderson a Clark Cup winner just what did you uh like about him throughout the process
uh our area scout Brandon Dennis was super passionate about him super super competitive type of kid that uh you know may not show up on the stat sheet just yet extremely young too for the draft class first year in the US wins a championship but uh the credit goes to Brandon Dennis just loved his competitiveness and the the type the way he plays the game to influence it to help the team win so
you guys drafted some big bodies and some physical players was there there was that a common theme something you were looking for in this year’s draft
i mean you’re looking for everything right i think it’s sometimes just the way it lines up uh you know you learn through the dos and don’ts o over your career and obviously Payton Kettles was a was a guy that we really liked in that spot um Brady Pedal another big left shot D that’s uh provides a ton of defensive utility um and Charlie Trethay another defenseman not as big but uh can influence the game on both sides of the puck like I said earlier uh love the path and we’ll see where it goes with him
doc your your last pick just what are you getting in him
well he played in Sherwood Park BCHL he’s actually going to join Calgary we believe next year and play with Ben and then go to Penn State uh area scouts had a lot of time for him where he was was uh I think he had 87 points this past year uh two-way guy that produced at a pretty good clip and a pretty good league so um our model was high on him at that point so we’ll see where that one goes as well
for sure on Ryan Miller and uh I hope I say this Quinn Buchane Duchain
yeah Ryan Miller another guy that Robbie Sandland and Dan Mlan were really passionate about portland had a great playoffs with them um he’s committed to Denver I think uh two years time super competitive winger hunts pucks relentless um certain things that we obviously covet and Quinn Bochznney or Boane I’m not sure how you pronounce that um national team kid outside of G uh right shot D two-way guy makes a really strong pass defends well intelligent um yeah we’ll see where that one goes but Brandon DeFazio Chris Rock are guys in Ontario really passionate about him at that spot
can we ask you about Jordan Shiron yet i’m sorry names here
yeah there’s a lot of names a lot of names jordan Jordan Triron’s another Sue kid i mean just circumstance that we get two guys from the Sue and Kyle’s from the Sue too so um another kid that’s really early in his development curve small sample there on the OHL um guys were passionate about him in that spot so we’ll see where that goes over the next couple years
this is your first year with the or first full year with the organization reunited with Kyle just how did you guys from day one when you joined your organization decide to tackle this project i guess in terms of trying to rebuild or or restock the prospect pool
well I think everybody knows where the organization’s at right so um you know working with Kyle it’s it’s it’s close to two decades where I’ve worked with them our alignment is is is critical believe in a lot of the same things in terms of process um control the things that we can control uh you know this year was great i mean I I can’t complain it’s a great organization great ownership um 13 picks this year we got a number of picks next year a number of picks the year after that do our best to execute on those picks and continue to try and make this club better and expedite it as quick as we can
what can you tell us about the trade you made to start today with getting Clifton and sending a couple of guys to Buffalo I think it was
well Connor Timman’s a guy that we’ve had long history with especially Kyle there in the sue and then Toronto um came in last year with Connor Der i think we paid a fifth for him helped us here in the short term um wish him nothing but the best because long relationship with Connor myself included um you get a second round pick for Connor at that point and Connor Clifton who can improve the competitiveness on our back and physical play um bring a little more fire to the to the lineup that on top of the second round pick it just made a lot of sense good business by Kyle there
with the new rules some of these guys who have birthdays that might be stuck in juniors for another year might the organization recommend they go to college for a year at this point uh we got a lot to figure out i mean that that that landscape it’s going to be fascinating to watch so I I don’t have an answer on on that i mean every case is different right everybody’s different in their own right so we’ll do our best spez and TK will do their best on the development side building the relationships and figuring out charting out what the best course of action is for each player but wherever they’re at we’ll do our best and help them improve
Vice President of Player Personnel Wes Clark addresses the media following the second round of the 2025 NHL Draft.
SUBSCRIBE to be among the first to see new Penguins content by clicking here: https://pens.pe/subscribe
1 comment
This is cool to hear from Wes Clark.