The 2025 NHL Entry Draft officially marked 10 years since the 2016 draft. With six selections in the 2016 draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins were hoping to have at least one player work out and stay in the organization. However, that did not happen as each of the picks either are not with the team or never made an appearance, including a goaltender they may be regretting getting rid of considering the situation they are in. With none of them in the organization, where exactly did the Penguins’ 2016 draft class end up?
Filip Gustavsson: Round 2, 55th Overall
With no first-round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, the Penguins’ first selection came with the 55th-overall pick in the second round. With the pick, they took Swedish-born goaltender Filip Gustavsson. Though drafted by the Penguins, Gustavsson never stepped foot on the ice in the black and gold. He was ultimately traded to the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 23, 2018, in a three-team trade involving the Vegas Golden Knights.
Gustavsson spent parts of five seasons in the Senators’ organization, playing games in the NHL, American Hockey League (AHL), and ECHL. Unable to find his footing with a permanent NHL spot, a change of scenery helped with that. Over the last three seasons, he has earned a spot on the Minnesota Wild roster. Throughout his career, Gustavsson has shone with a 2.67 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage across his five seasons in the NHL. The 27-year-old is in the final season of his three-year, $3.75 million contract with the Wild.
Kasper Bjorkqvist: Round 2, Pick 61
Kasper Bjorkqvist’s tenure within the Penguins’ organization was short-lived. Drafted with the 61st-overall pick, the Penguins saw something in him they thought could help the team. Things did not work out, however, as he played 65 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (WBS) in the AHL and just five games in the NHL.
Related: 2016 NHL Entry Draft Top 10: Where Are They Now?
Before the 2022-23 season, Bjorkqvist returned home to Finland to play in Liiga. He has played two seasons with Karpat, scoring nine goals and 23 points in 82 games. Last season, he signed a two-year contract with Ilves Tampere, which runs through the 2025-26 season. As the new season looms closer, Bjorkqvist will be looking to up his point production from his three points in 35 games during the 2024-25 season.
Connor Hall: Round 3, 77th Overall
Connor Hall is a name many Penguins fans may not remember, and for good reason. After his Ontario Hockey League (OHL) career with the Kitchener Rangers, Hall attended the University of New Brunswick. He went on to sign with the South Carolina Stingrays for the 2022-23 season, but played just eight games for the Stingrays. He returned to South Carolina for his second season and saw just one game. Hall is now back in Canada, playing in the Ontario Super Hockey League for the Stratford Fighting Irish.
Ryan Jones: Round 4, 121st Overall
With the 121st-overall pick, the Penguins selected Ryan Jones from the Lincoln Stars in the United States Hockey League (USHL.) At 6-foot-4, Jones was always a big body on defense, had a strong skating ability, and was quite physical. After two seasons in the USHL, Jones was a commit at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He played four seasons there and was named alternate captain in his senior season. In his 141 games with the school, he registered 38 assists and 42 points, but his defensive stats were underwhelming. In total, he went minus-58 in his collegiate career.
Not given an entry-level contract from the Penguins, Jones signed an AHL deal with the Buffalo Sabres’ AHL affiliate, Rochester Americans for the 2020-21 season. He spent one season with Rochester, playing 29 games. The 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons saw Jones play for the Syracuse Crunch, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s affiliate. In 137 games, he collected 20 assists and 27 points, but was a plus-player (plus-4) for the first time since the 2015-16 season with the Stars. Jones haas split time between the Coachella Valley Firebirds (46 games) in the AHL and the Kansas City Mavericks (53 games) in the ECHL over the past two seasons. As of July 24, 2025 Jones is unsigned.
Niclas Almari: Round 5, 151st Overall
Taken in the fifth round 151st overall, Niclas Almari was drafted to the Penguins from Jokerit Jrs in the U20 Liiga. Not ready to make the jump, Almari spent the 2016-17 and most of the 2017-18 seasons in Finland playing for HPK U20 (10 games) and senior (83 games) teams, as well as being loaned to LeKi (four games) and Espoo United (nine games) in Mestis. In 2017-18, he made his AHL debut with WBS, playing just two games. He returned to HPK to play two games with the U20s and 42 games with the senior team. He went minus-1, scoring one goal and six points. Almari was ultimately loaned to the Pelicans in Liiga for the 2020-21 season to get a few more games under his belt.
With the thought of the 2021-22 season to be his breakout season, Almari played 13 games with WBS and six games with the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL, where he went even with six points. With things not working out, he was loaned to Lukko in Finland and has been with them ever since. His game has improved immensely with 68 points in 178 games played. While his offensive stats did improve, so has his defensive game, with a plus-67. The 2025-26 season will see Almari wear the alternate captain’s “A” on his sweater for the second season.
Joe Masonius: Round 5, 181st Overall
The 181st-overall pick, Joe Masonius, has been a career-long ECHLer since turning pro. Drafted after his freshman season at the University of Connecticut, Masonius made his professional hockey debut during the 2018-19 season. He split the season between the Stingrays and Manchester Monarchs in the ECHL. Throughout his career, he played for 12 teams across four leagues and six seasons. While most of his time came in the ECHL, he spent parts of three seasons with the Macon Mayhem (SPHL), Utica Comets (AHL), and HSC Csikszereda (Erste Liga in Hungary and Romania). As of the end of the 2023-24 season, Masonius has not stepped foot on the ice as a player.
On Aug. 14, 2024, Westchester Express hockey announced him as an associate head coach for their 15U/16U team as well as their director of player personnel. He also took on a role as an agent/mentor with Advocate Athlete.
Penguins’ 2016 Draft Class Did Not Work Out
Looking back at the Penguins’ 2016 draft class, it was one of the least-impactful ones for the organization, but one that may sting a bit for one reason: goaltending. Outside of acquiring Vince Dunn, Derick Brassard, and a third-round draft pick from the Senators for Gustavsson, this draft is one to throw out of the memory books. While it was unknown at the time Gustavsson would emerge as a reliable NHL goalie, one has to wonder if the Penguins should have kept him after all considering the current situation between the pipes. One thing the organization can take away from their 2016 Draft is the importance of scouting, development, and hoping for some luck in finding those hidden gems in the later rounds.
