The European pipeline in today’s NHL continues to grow. This year’s draft gave some proof of that, as it was the first time since 1999 that the top three players selected were all born outside of North America.
At this year’s prospect development camp for the Penguins, seven players are trying to tap into that pipeline: Finnish defensemen Niclas Almari and Antti Palojarvi are joined by left winger Kasper Bjorkqvist; centers Filip Hallander and Linus Olund were born in Sweden; and wingers Jan Drozg and Renars Krastenbergs hail from Slovenia and Latvia, respectively. All but Krastenbergs, who is an unrestricted free agent, were selected by the Penguins in one of the past three drafts.