The NHL draft provides very few guarantees, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are learning afresh that it's just as important to luck out in later rounds as it is to cash in on the surefire lottery picks.

With 12 goals in 21 games, forward Jake Guentzel - a native of Omaha, Nebraska, who was drafted 77th overall in 2013 - leads the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs in scoring, and by a wide margin over his all-world teammates.

Evgeni Malkin (second overall in 2004) sits in a tie for second with nine goals, while Sidney Crosby (first overall in 2005) has a share of the fourth-highest total with seven.

Related: Guentzel sets playoff goals, points record by American-born rookie

A quick look back at the 2013 draft reveals that Pittsburgh didn't originally own the third-round pick used on Guentzel. In fact, the Penguins were the fourth team to lay claim to it.

Here's a quick look at how it came into their possession:

June 27, 2011: The Minnesota Wild sent a 2013 third-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forward Darroll Powe.

Feb. 16, 2012: Philadelphia flipped the pick, as well as a 2012 second-round selection acquired from the Los Angeles Kings, to the Dallas Stars for defenseman Nicklas Grossman.

March 24, 2013: Dallas traded a conditional third-round pick and forward Brenden Morrow to Pittsburgh for defenseman Joe Morrow and a fifth-round pick in 2013. The Stars also possessed a third-round pick by way of the Edmonton Oilers, and therefore placed a condition on the trade with Pittsburgh whereby the Penguins would receive the lower of the two selections. Minnesota finished with a better record than Edmonton that season, hence the Wild pick being assigned to Pittsburgh.

Catch all that?

And so, when Pittsburgh was called upon to make the pick, a forward from the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers became property of the Penguins.

From there, Guentzel spent three seasons at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, developing his game in his hometown and registering 40 goals and 79 assists in 108 NCAA games.

He signed his entry-level deal with the Penguins in 2016, and made an immediate impact upon being called up this past regular season, scoring two goals on his first two shots in his NHL debut, capped by a memorable reaction from his family.

After his latest playoff goal, he's on the brink of scoring 50 in his first full season as a pro.

Team Games Goals Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) 33 21 Pittsburgh Penguins (Reg. Season) 40 16 Pittsburgh Penguins (Playoffs) 21 12 TOTAL 94 49

Guentzel has emerged as an unlikely Conn Smythe Trophy candidate as playoff MVP, and, with the next draft only a few weeks away, he's serving as a reminder for the other 30 teams that championships are often won by mining gold on the second day of the annual event.