The 2012 draft for the Penguins was marked by the trade of Jordan Staal to the Carolina Hurricanes. This trade resulted in the Penguins having two first round picks for the first time since the 1996 Entry draft when the Penguins drafted Craig Hillier and Pavel Skrbek.
The Penguins defence has benefited the most from the draft so far with Derrick Pouliot and Olli Maatta appearing with the Penguins. Pouliot spent two seasons in the system and is currently appearing under Jim Rutherford due to Cole's poor performances. He has so far appeared in 37 games. Maatta played for Pittsburgh straight away and had one of the best rookie seasons for a defenceman in Pittsburgh scoring 29 points in 78 games. He missed a lot of games last season due to a shoulder injury which affected his development.
Currently, the only other player to appear from the 2012 draft is Matt Murray. Murray is one of, if not the most promising goalies in the American Hockey League at the moment. He has appeared in 4 games so far and has look brilliant in his short stint. With Sundqvist playing this weekend it means that Blueger is the remaining player in the top five yet to play. He is however playing in the NCAA and I imagine he will appear in the near future.
Of the remaining players yet to play, other than Bleuger, is Sean Maguire, Matia Marcantuoni, Clark Seymour and Anton Zlobin. Zlobin and Marcantuoni have been splitting their time between the ECHL and AHL this season and likely won't make the NHL. Seymour is a bottom pairing AHL defenceman, he too won't make it. It is unlikely that Maguire will be a regular NHL-er with the Penguins but he may make it elsewhere. After spending a year out due to injury he has returned for his third season in the NCAA. If he can put in good performances then, with Murray moving up, he could get a back-up job with Wilkes-Barre.
A lot of complaints are made about the Penguins drafting but the 2012 draft is going against that trend and hopefully more years do.
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