There’s Penguins hockey today. With an asterisk since it’s the prospects, who are up in Buffalo for the fourth straight September for the annual event the Sabres host.
Here’s what to know as the wheels of the season start to slowly get rolling.
When: 3:30pm eastern today vs. Boston (plus add Sunday at 3:30 to your calendar and Monday at 12 noon while you’re at it for the other two games the Pens are involved in
Who: The roster is here — it includes 12 of the Top 25 players under 25, but not Rutger McGroarty, Bill Zonnon or Peyton Kettles – who are all out with undisclosed injuries
Where to watch: Luckily, you can get an early fix of hockey action by watching online. Check out the official Penguins website near the time of the game. I think they also cast it to their YouTube channel, if memory serves.
Who could be good: Not that it matters at all, but the Penguins have won this event two years in a row. It would be foolish to put a lot of stock into predicting prospect hockey but Pittsburgh has a good shot at showing well, if not winning again being as their team this year is stronger than the group that went last year.
- Tristan Broz and Avery Hayes were both really, really good at this event last year (which the Penguins won) and both are back at this event with a season’s worth of AHL experience under their belts. It doesn’t seem like a lot to expect those two to be among the best players on the ice at this level of competition this time around and would be disappointing if they don’t show out as impact players.
- Another player mentioned as impressive in that linked article from last year was Ville Koivunen, who continued to impress in a successful AHL rookie season that ended up in the NHL. He ought to be a standout for this venue as well from being one of the most accomplished and seasoned players on the ice.
- Owen Pickering and Sergei Murashov are two more players who made a favorable impact at this event last season, and both are 12 months more experienced and improved since, so put them in that long category with the others above as top-end players for the weekend. Pickering’s style won’t make him standout, even at this type of event, but it’s an important one nonetheless for him to play well in. Murashov, on the other hand, has torn up lower levels like the ECHL, if he’s sharp right off the bat it wouldn’t be a surprise.
- McGroarty and Harrison Brunicke opened eyes in their very first look in a Penguin jersey in the 2024 Prospect Challenge. McGroarty ended up using that momentum to make the NHL team out of training camp, and Brunicke was the last cut of camp, nearly making the NHL roster at just 18-years old. As mentioned above, McGroarty won’t be playing this year but Brunicke will again be looking to start his preseason off right and start his quest to stick in the big league.
- Beyond them, the list is stacked with first time pros. Emil Pieniniemi and Finn Harding are turning pro after both had great OHL seasons last year. They’ll attract some attention but the defender who might pop even more in this type of scrimmage/game environment is current OHL player Quinn Beauchesne (a fifth round pick this year). Beauchesne has the skating and the daring style to shine in an atmosphere that isn’t a super-high competition level. He’ll need to get better with some of his puck management decisions and stay healthy but even before it happens I think you can call Beauchesne having a good chance to raise “how did this guy slip to the fifth round?” questions in the years to come.
- If you want some under the radar players to key in on for the next few days, watch what happens with forwards Travis Hayes, Jordan Charron and Ryan Miller. All were drafted in the fourth or fifth round this year, and might be in bit roles or even scratches for some of these games. None of them are extremely toolsy or have the hallmarks of huge point producers, but they all “have that dog in them” as the kids say. Hayes and Charron are OHL teammates but you wouldn’t know it since were going at each other tooth and nail during July’s prospect camp, sometimes even after the drill ended. Miller is similar and a lot of people believe he’s about to make a big jump from 2024-25 (31 points in 50 games) to this season.
- Ben Kindel shouldn’t be an afterthought, because the highest drafted player for the Penguins will be at the event and the only one of the 2025 first rounders participating in Buffalo. (Zonnon being injured and Will Horcoff, like the rest of the collegiate prospects, back at their respective schools). Kindel should be able to show off some of his polished playmaking and two-way game at a venue like this as he gets his first little taste of pro action.
Hockey action is back after a long summer and the first taste will come today. It’s always a fun time and nice chance to see how the youth is doing, and the Pens are bringing a lot to the table to be excited about.
