The Pittsburgh Penguins have selected forwards Ben Kindel (11th overall), Bill Zonnon (22nd overall) and Will Horcoff (24th overall) in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft.
The Penguins traded the 12th overall pick to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for the 22nd and 31st overall picks. Pittsburgh then traded the 31st and 59th overall picks to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the 24th overall pick.
Kindel, 18, completed his second full season with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2024-25. The forward registered WHL career highs in goals (35), assists (64), points (99) and plus/minus (+39) in 65 games with Calgary. His 99 points ranked second among teammates and seventh overall in the WHL. Kindel set a new Hitmen record with a 23-game point streak (15G-30A) from November 8, 2024 to January 12, 2025. The run was second only to WHL Player of the Year Gavin McKenna’s 40-game point streak.
During the 2025 playoffs, the 5-foot-10, 181-pound forward led Calgary with 15 points (8G-7A) in 11 games.
Kindel also spent the 2023-24 season with Calgary, finishing third on his team with 60 points (15G-45A) in 68 games. Over the course of two WHL seasons from 2023-25, the forward registered 50 goals, 109 assists, 159 points and was plus-41 in 134 games.
The Coquitlam, British Columbia native represented Team Canada at the 2025 World Under-18 Championship, tallying seven points (1G-6A) in five games and winning a gold medal. Kindel also won the gold medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in the same season, adding a goal and an assist in five games.
Zonnon, 18, completed his third season with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), representing the club as an alternate captain. He established career highs in goals (28), assists (55) and points (83) and ranked second on his team in points. Following the season, Zonnon was traded to Blainville-Boisbriand.
During the 2025 playoffs, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound forward led Rouyn-Noranda and ranked 13th overall in the QMJHL with 16 points (8G-8A) in 13 games.
Over the past three seasons with Rouyn-Noranda from 2022-25, Zonnon tallied 62 goals, 118 assists, 180 points and was plus-29 in 195 QMJHL games. He has appeared in the playoffs all three years with the Huskies, registering 33 points (16G-17A) in 32 career postseason games.
The Montreal, Quebec native represented Team Canada at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, notching three points (1G-2A) in six games.
Horcoff, 18, split the 2024-25 season with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program and the University of Michigan (NCAA). In 28 games with the Program’s U18 Team, the forward tallied 14 points (8G-6A) in 28 games. In 18 NCAA games with the Wolverines, Horcoff registered 10 points (4G-6A).
The 6-foot-5, 203-pound forward has spent parts of the last two seasons with the NTDP from 2023-25. In 82 total games at the U18 and U17 levels, Horcoff notched 33 points (19G-14A).
The Birmingham, Michigan native represented Team USA at the 2025 World Under-18 Championship, tallying four points (2G-2A) in seven games and winning a bronze medal.
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