LAS VEGAS — After sitting out the first round of the NHL draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins took a pair of prospects from the Canadian junior ranks in Saturday’s second round.

Their selection at 44th overall was Kamloops defenseman Harrison Brunicke, who was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, then moved to Calgary at the age of 2.

Brunicke, 18, is a right-handed shot and is listed at 6-foot-3 and 196 pounds. He is considered a two-way defenseman with strong skating ability. He had 10 goals and 21 points with a minus-12 rating in 49 games for Kamloops last season.

“He’s got a lot of attributes that made him really attractive to us,” Penguins director of amateur scouting Nick Pryor said. “Anytime you can find a defenseman that can move like that at that size, and move the puck well, it is really attractive.”

Two picks later, the Penguins drafted feisty Regina Pats forward Tanner Howe.

Howe, 18, is a forward with a left shot. He’s 5-10 and 184 pounds. He had 36 goals and 85 points in 2022-23 and followed it up with 28 goals and 77 points last season. He was captain for the Pats in 2023-24, taking over for Connor Bedard.

“It’s a crazy feeling. Hugging your parents and family, it’s pretty crazy. Obviously speechless,” Howe said during a joint press conference alongside Brunicke at the Sphere. “Pittsburgh is such a great organization. Can’t wait to get started.”

Howe, who admitted his skating needs some work, called himself a competitive player who embraces the agitator role. Brad Marchand is one of his favorites. Pryor agreed, calling him a player with a “high motor,” plus some strength and skill.

“I kind of call myself a Swiss Army Knife,” Howe added. “I [can play] in all positions, I can play penalty kill and I think I’m good five-on-five, too. I play wing or centerman. I think that’s kind of what makes me special. I can play with anyone.”

Brunicke described himself as “a two-way defenseman,” saying he tries to mirror his game after Miro Heiskanen, the stud blue-liner for the Dallas Stars. He said he wants to become more physical, throwing hits and winning more battles.

The Penguins added two more right-shot defensemen with their next two picks.

With the 111th selection in the fourth round, they selected Chase Pietila. Pietila, 20, plays at Michigan Tech. Listed at 6-2 and 186 pounds, he had 22 points in 40 games in 2023-24. Previously, he played for Youngstown of the USHL.

Two rounds later, at No. 175 overall, the Penguins picked up Joona Vaisanen, 19. Another overager, he is from Finland but played for Dubuque of the USHL in 2023-24. He had nine goals and 40 points in 53 games for the Fighting Saints. His coach was Kirk MacDonald, the new Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach.

“I saw [Kirk] this week at the draft, and Kirk said very, very positive things about him as a player and as a person,” Pryor said. “So it only added to our information that we had and made us feel every better about selecting Joona.”

While the Penguins’ prospect pool had been lacking right-shot defensemen, Pryor said the team did not go into the weekend looking to hammer that position.

“Obviously, we talk about what we have and what we don’t have, and what we would like to add,” he said. “With where we are right now, we want to add to kind of every position in our prospect pool. So I’d say that was more the way the board fell. It just so happened that right-shot D, we were able to add to that.”

Their two seventh-round picks were Mac Swanson, a pint-sized forward who is the reigning USHL player of the year, and another CHL defender, Finn Harding.

Pryor grinned slyly when he talked about Swanson, gushing, “Just a really exciting player to watch. He’s small but he’s competitive, and he’s highly skilled and highly intelligent. So we were excited to get him, especially where we got him.”

Between the last two Penguins picks, Peters Township product Christian Humphreys was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche, a few rounds later than projected.

All six players the Penguins selected will be invited to next week’s annual prospect development camp, though Vaisanen is over in Finland and might not attend.

Brunicke, this year’s top pick for the Penguins, said he planned to savor the rest of his draft weekend before he embarked on his path from the draft to the NHL.

“[There’s] a lot of emotions. Waiting to get your name called and it finally comes,” the defenseman said. “The next chapter starts now and the hard work begins.”

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