Penguins Need Young Blood on the Blue Line

The Pittsburgh Penguins put the Eastern Conference on notice this season when they unexpectedly made the playoffs for the first time since 2022. It wasn’t a long playoff stint, but it was enough to prove that the team is heading in the right direction. President of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas fast-tracked the rebuild by having a successful 2025 offseason. 

There are a few things the roster is still missing, but Dubas has been stockpiling draft picks and prospects since he got to Pittsburgh. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Pittsburgh’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, have some promising young talent on their roster who could get some time in the NHL next season. 

Penguins Need to Get Younger

Pittsburgh had a good season, and it far surpassed expectations. However, a lot of its key players are over 30, so it desperately needs to add some young blood. Strengthening the defense should be at the top of Dubas’s offseason checklist. This season, his top-four defensive unit was made up of Erik Karlsson, Parker Wotherspoon, Kris Letang and Sam Girard. Wotherspoon and Karlsson made an excellent pairing, but Girard and Letang struggled through much of the season. 

There is not going to be much available this summer in free agency that fits what the Penguins need on defense. Dubas may look inward for some reinforcements on the blue line, and there is some potential help in Wilkes-Barre.

Harrison Brunicke is the Penguins’ top defensive prospect and a potential key piece to their rebuild. He earned a nine-game look at training camp last season. He spent the majority of the season in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Kamloops Blazers, and then joined the baby Penguins towards the end of the regular season and for the playoffs. 

Brunicke played in 15 playoff games with Wilkes-Barre and scored two goals with five assists. Ideally, he will make the Penguins’ roster out of training camp next season and prove he is ready to be in the NHL full-time. Karlsson and Letang are the top two right-side defensemen, but age is catching up to both of them, and Pittsburgh needs its young prospect to step up. 

Wilkes-Barre had an impressive season of its own, advancing all the way to the Eastern Conference Final in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Brunicke isn’t the only promising young prospect in the Penguins’ system. The Scranton Penguins recalled defenseman Brent Johnson from their ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers, on June 7. The Nailers just concluded their season losing in the Eastern Conference Final to the Florida Everblades. 

Johnson played in 72 regular-season games and scored 12 goals with 43 assists for 55 points. Through 13 playoff games, he had six assists. He is a solid two-way player, and he is good at reading the ice and moving the puck. He will more than likely spend all of next season continuing his development between Wilkes-Barre and Wheeling. At 23 years old, he has the potential to develop into a key piece of Pittsburgh’s rebuild. 

Wilkes-Barre also signed defenseman Quinn Beauchesne to an amateur tryout agreement on June 7. Beauchesne spent most of this season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Guelph Storm. In 56 games, he scored seven goals with 28 assists. The Penguins drafted him in the fifth round of the 2025 NHL Draft. He plays a physical game, and he is a good skater. At 19 years old, his game is still developing, but he is someone the Penguins will be watching closely. 

Dubas Needs to Have a Successful Summer

The Penguins were able to find success this season because of the work Dubas put in last summer. Since his veteran core will be in place for at least one more season, he needs to find them some help this offseason. Defense is an area of concern, and bringing in some young, fresh talent is the answer.