PENGUINS TAKE ZONNON & HORCOFF LATE IN FIRST ROUND
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Early in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins made a high-profile draft pick and a trade.
After selecting Benjamin Kindel 11th overall, the Penguins then dealt the 12th overall choice to the Philadelphia Flyers. In return, Pittsburgh received two more first rounders at 22nd and 31st. Then the Penguins swung another deal with the Los Angeles Kings to move up to 24th overall in exchange for that 31st pick they received from Philadelphia.
It was a busy day.
You can read up on Kindel here, but two more key figures in the Black and Gold’s future are Bill Zonnon and William Horcoff.
22nd OVERALL – BILL ZONNON (C)
More than 90 minutes after the Penguins were originally slated to pick at No. 12 overall, they took Bill Zonnon at 22.
Zonnon is a physical force, bringing intensity and a heavy game to every shift. He’s listed as 6-foot-2, but plays like he’s 6-foot-8. He’s a tireless worker off the ice, and it has translated to him becoming a tank on the ice. When he hits you, you feel it.
Zonnon shifted from the wing to center this season with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, and while the transition was a little touch-and-go at first, he ended up thriving down the middle of the ice. He improved in the face-off circle, and operating from the middle of the ice allowed him to flex his playmaking ability. Zonnon has soft hands and ended up tied for seventh in the QMJHL with 83 points, and fifth overall with 55 assists. He’s also over a point-per-game in the playoffs during his QMJHL career, producing 33 points (16G-17A) in 32 postseason contests.
The 18-year-old was already part of an offseason trade in the QMJHL too, being dealt from Rouyn-Noranda to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. Zonnon will be eligible to play in the AHL full-time starting in the 2026-27.
24th OVERALL – WILLIAM HORCOFF (C)
The Penguins took their third center of the night by taking a massive body in William Horcoff.
He’s a hulking power forward who is not only physically imposing in stature (a shade under 6-foot-5 and weighing 203 lbs,) he knows how to utilize his large frame to his advantage. On the forecheck and on the cycle, Horcoff is a force to be reckoned with. And if he can’t get a hold of you for a crushing hit, he whips out his long reach to disrupt puck carriers.
With Horcoff’s size, you’d think it’d be easy for defenses to keep track of him, and yet he has a knack for finding soft areas of the ice to accept passes and let a rip with his heavy shot.
He started the year with the United States National Team Development Program, then joined the University of Michigan midseason. The son of long-time NHLer Shawn Horcoff, William is expected to return to the Wolverines in the fall, but he will be AHL eligible as soon as he were to sign with Pittsburgh.
Tonight marked the first time since 1984 that Pittsburgh made three selections in the first round of a draft. that year, the Penguins took Mario Lemieux (1), Doug Bodger (8) and Roger Belanger (16).
Pittsburgh’s work in the 2025 NHL Draft isn’t done yet. Day two of the draft takes place tomorrow, Saturday, June, 28, featuring rounds two through seven. Barring more trades, the Penguins still have eight selections at their disposal. They are currently slated to pick again at 73rd, 84th, 85th, 105th, 130th, 148th, 169th, and 201st overall.
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