In the off-season, Näslund was drafted 16th overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team's general manager, Craig Patrick, hailed Näslund and Forsberg as the draft's top two prospects behind first-overall selection Eric Lindros. He compared Näslund to the Los Angeles Kings' Swedish forward Tomas Sandström, although he did not consider him as aggressive a player, and further claimed that he was a more natural goal-scorer than Penguins forward Jaromír Jágr, who had just completed his rookie year with the club.