Pittsburgh Penguins name Wes Clark vice-president of player personnel

Not even two weeks ago, Wes Clark was putting his stamp on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ future, making their draft picks as their director of amateur scouting and director of player personnel. It turns out the 2024 NHL Draft, which included selecting Ben Danford in the first round, was Clark’s final one with the Leafs.

On Tuesday morning, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that Clark was joining them as their new vice-president of player personnel. He will oversee Pittsburgh’s amateur, professional and college/European free agent scouting departments and will report directly to president of hockey operations and GM Kyle Dubas.

The move represents a reunion between Clark and Dubas. Clark worked in the OHL as the Soo Greyhounds’ director of hockey operations (2011-12) and director of player personnel (2013-2015), overlapping with Dubas’ tenure as GM there (2011-2014. Clark later spent time as a player evaluation consultant and amateur scout for the Leafs. After a couple years scouting with the Florida Panthers, he joined the Leafs under Dubas in 2018-19, rising from assistant director of player personnel to director of amateur scouting and director of player personnel. Joining the Pens continues Clark’s long run of overlapping with Dubas.

“Starting last fall with the addition of Trent Mann as a player development and scouting advisor and the elevation of Andy Saucier to lead our pro scouting department, we have sought to really bolster our player personnel system. Our personnel decisions in this short term will be critical as we seek to add the draft picks, prospects and young players that will serve to add an infusion of young, hungry players to our core,” Dubas said in team release Tuesday. “By adding Wes to lead the departments directed by Nick Pryor and Andy, along with the valuable experience and wisdom that Trent provides, we have tried to put the Penguins in a strong position to go out and execute on our personnel strategy in the short and long run. Having worked with Wes for many years, I have a deep trust in his ability to identify talent, lead staffs, advance our scouting process and methods, learn from mistakes to improve processes and to challenge my own thinking and planning on a near daily basis.”

With Clark running the Leafs’ drafts, they found Nick Robertson in 2019’s second round and, after perceived to be reaching on Easton Cowan late in Round 1 of the 2024 Draft, watched him become the OHL’s top player and take home the Red Tilson Trophy this past season. The likes of Matthew Knies and Fraser Minten were also selected under Clark’s watch.