PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins built their Stanley Cup championship team through drafting players that would serve as the cornerstone of their franchise for years to come.

On Friday night, the Pens held the last pick in the first round of the 2009 NHL Draft, a sign that their plan is working.

With the 30th overall pick, the Pens took defenseman Simon Despres of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Despres (6 feet 4 inches, 205 pounds) led Saint John in defensive scoring with 32 points in 66 games during the 2008-09 season.

Slideshow: Photos From The NHL Draft In Montreal

Despres, who turns 18 in July, represented Team Canada as an assistant captain at the 2009 Under-18 World Championships.

Despres is the first defenseman taken by the Pens in the first round since Ryan Whitney in 2002.

In the second round, the Pens added another defenseman -- a player whose name will be familiar to longtime Pittsburgh fans.

Philip Samuelsson, a 6-foot-3, 198-pounder from Scottsdale, Ariz., won a gold medal with Team USA in the Under-18 World Championships this year. He has committed to play at Boston College.

Samuelsson's father, Ulf, was a member of the Penguins' back-to-back Stanley Cup teams in 1991 and 1992.

"It's exciting," Ulf Samuelsson told PittsburghPenguins.com. "I was hoping he would go in the mid-fourth round so I would be champion of the family for going early in the fourth round. That was a long time ago. He's got me beat by quite a bit. I'm sure I'll hear about that."

With their fifth-round pick, the Pens took forward Andy Bathgate, of the Ontario Hockey League's Belleville Bulls. A shoulder injury limited him to four goals and 16 points in 44 games last season.

Bathgate's grandfather, also named Andy, played for the Penguins in their debut season in 1967 and is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

• Complete List - See The 2009 Penguins Draft Picks

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Other NHL Draft Notes:

• The New York Islanders selected center John Tavares with the first overall pick. Tavares led the Ontario Hockey League with 58 goals and 104 points as a member of the London Knights in 2008-09.
• The Anaheim Ducks sent defenseman Chris Pronger to the Philadelphia Flyers for prospect Luca Sbisa, forward Joffrey Lupul and first round picks in 2009 and 2010.

Notable Pens First Round Draft Picks

• 2006: Jordan Staal (2nd Overall)
• 2005: Sidney Crosby (1st Overall)
• 2004: Evgeni Malkin (2nd Overall)
• 2003: Marc-Andre Fleury (1st Overall)
• 2002: Ryan Whitney (5th Overall)
• 2001: Colby Armstrong (21st Overall)
• 2000: Brooks Orpik (18th Overall)
• 1995: Alexei Morozov (24th Overall)
• 1992: Martin Staka (19th Overall)
• 1991: Markus Naslund (16th Overall)
• 1990: Jaromir Jagr (5th Overall)
• 1984: Mario Lemieux (1st Overall)
• 1983: Bob Errey (15th Overall)
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