Addison, who is teammates with Pens' prospect Jordy Bellerive on the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League (WHL), packs a punch on the power play. He tied for the league lead in power-play assists among defensemen with 35 last season. Addison's full profile can be viewed
here
.
The Penguins moved up to select Swedish-born forward Filip Hallander with the 58th-overall pick in the second round. The Penguins traded the 64th- and 146th- overall picks to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for the earlier selection.
Hallander, 17, played his first full season last year with Timra IK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), notching 20 points (9G-11A) in 40 games, ranking sixth on the team in scoring. The 6-foot-2, 188-pound Hallander represented his country in the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup,totaling four points (3G-1A) in five games. The Sundsvall, Sweden native is touted as a talented two-way player and was ranked 13th among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
In Round 5, the Penguins chose forward Justin Almeida from the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL with the 129th-overall selection. Almeida had an explosive 2017-18 campaign with the Warriors, finishing third in team scoring with a career-high 98 points (43G-55A) in 72 games. The 5-foot-9, 158-pound native of Kitimat, British Columbia set career highs across the board in the postseason, ranking fourth on the team with 13 points (6G-7A) in 14 contests.
The Penguins' final selection of the day was forward Liam Gorman with the 177th overall pick. The 6-foot-1, 174-pound native of Arlington, Massachusetts played two games with the Chicago Steel of the USHL before spending the season with St. Sebastian's School of USHS-Prep. Gorman set career highs in goals (17), assists (16), points (33), and games played (30) in his third season with the team. His 33 points ranked third on the team.
Gorman is committed to Boston University, alma mater of Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Clark Donatelli.
The Penguins traded their seventh-round pick (208th overall) to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Vegas' seventh-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
