Joe Sager | pittsburghpenguins.com Pittsburgh Penguins
Jun 23, 2007, 10:42 AM EDT
COLUMBUS, Ohio ? Adding depth was one of the Pittsburgh Penguins? goals at the NHL Entry Draft.
They believe they achieved it Saturday as the two-day event concluded at Nationwide Arena. The Penguins selected three centers, three defensemen and a winger in Rounds 2-7.
The Penguins had a pair of third-round choices and used them on defenseman Robert Bortuzzo (78th overall) and center Casey Pierro-Zabotel (80th). The 6-3, 196-pound Bortuzzo had 14 points and 67 penalty minutes in 63 games with Kitchener in the OHL last season, while the 6-1, 205-pound Pierro-Zabotel had 116 points (51+65) in 55 games with Merritt of the BCHL Tier 2 junior league.
?Pittsburgh is a great organization and I am happy to be in it now,? Pierro-Zabotel said. ?I like to go to the front of the net and score the goals right in front of the net.?
Pierro-Zabotel will attend Michigan Tech next season.
?I am excited to go there. It?ll be a good year,? he said. ?There were other colleges, but I chose Michigan Tech because I thought it?d give me the best opportunity to play.?
