#Pens trade Beau Bennett to New Jersey for 77th overall pick.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 25, 2016
#Pens select defenseman Connor Hall from Kitchener of the OHL with the 77th pick.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 25, 2016
I have a feeling that the Beau Bennett trade tree will be a short one. In 47 games in the OHL, Hall has an average of .19 points per game.
Given that most of the good defensemen in the NHL were racking up points in junior and college, that’s not a good sign:
Please show me all the good shutdown defenders that sucked at scoring in junior.
Thanks.— Garret Hohl (@GarretHohl) June 23, 2016
@aud_mike Almost all good NHL defensive defensemen were not defensive defensemen in junior.
— Garret Hohl (@GarretHohl) June 25, 2016
This is what the Penguins Inside Scoop had to say about Hall:
. @daredlinereport on Hall: "Tough as nails. Loves to fight and throw bombs." I think Pittsburgh will love this kid -SK
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) June 25, 2016
Hall is 6-2, 192 pounds. Still room to fill out. He's going to be a tank on skates -SK
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) June 25, 2016
Sexton on if the physical play of Hall and Jones fits the #Pens speed system: "Absolutely" -SK
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) June 25, 2016
* While Hall is from Kitchener, Ontario – where he plays major junior for his hometown Rangers – he actually grew up a big fan of Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.
“I enjoyed watching them through the whole playoffs and really cheered them on,” said Hall, who attended a couple of games at Mellon Arena when he was young. “Just overall, just love the city of Pittsburgh and really excited to join the Penguins organization.”
It helps that his current Ontario Hockey League head coach is Jay McKee, who spent his final NHL season in Pittsburgh back in 2009-10.
“He played for the Penguins a while back. He had a fun time there,” smiled Hall - funniest soccer commentator.
* Being such a fan of the team, it was surreal for Hall to hear his name called by the Pens and put on the brand-new Pittsburgh Gold jersey. He joked that his new sweater would fit right into the décor of his room at home.
“It’s an unbelievable experience,” he said. “Everyone always says that you never forget these moments and to be drafted by the Stanley Cup champions, it’s really a dream come true.”
It’s even sweeter after the season that he had, where Hall played just three games in the first half because of a 10-game suspension and a broken jaw sustained in a fight.
Ryan Wilson wrote a good post comparing this draft class to some recent Penguin defensemen . I took his idea and ran with it:

Now, maybe Hall will turn on the offense after dealing with a jaw injury. Maybe not. I’m always hopeful that the Penguins find a diamond in the rough, but in this case, I’m skeptical.
Updated: I added a graph that shows only the player’s first season in their respective youth league.