What Youth Brings to the 26-27 Penguins Chances at Continuing Their Trend Upwards
After the hiring of Kyle Dubas as the Penguins' president of hockey operations and Dan Muse as their new head coach, the Pittsburgh Penguins' approach to the NHL Draft and prospects changed. Younger players were acquired through the draft and trades, and the Pittsburgh Penguins entered the 2025-2026 season with a young, adjusted roster, along with a new coach and scheme. Recently, Dubas spoke and weighed in on what this youth brings to the Penguins in 2026-2027 and on the franchise's excitement levels moving forward. The Penguins have a lot to build on after making the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. Despite longtime veteran Evgeni Malkin being a free agent, the expectation is that he, along with Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang, will return next season. This veteran presence was huge in developing younger players such as Ben Kindel and Egor Chinakhov. As the Penguins were proving everyone wrong by making the playoffs and taking on their in-state rivals, the Flyers, despite having just a nine percent chance at the start of the season, their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, was excelling.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have plenty of talented prospects that Dubas and the Penguins organization are excited about. According to Michael DeRosa from Yahoo Sports, Rutger McGroarty is primed to have a breakout season in 2026. The 22-year-old forward is already seen as a great, up-and-coming candidate for the Penguins' continued development, and he has shown signs that he’s ready to excel. McGroarty has shown incredible progression over the past two seasons with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. In 2024-2025, the former first-round pick had 14 goals and 39 points in 60 games; in 2025-2026, he had 10 goals and 34 points in just 30 games. In 24 games with Pittsburgh this season, McGroarty had three goals and six points.
Another area of potential improvement for Pittsburgh next season is goaltending. Reports indicate that Stuart Skinner will leave the Penguins this offseason, leaving Arturs Silovs as the only goaltender currently on the roster. However, their AHL affiliates have the dual brick walls of Sergey Murashov and Joel Blomqvist. Murashov, a 22-year-old from Russia, played in 38 games, posting a 2.20 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. Blomqvist was nearly as good, as the 24-year-old from Finland played in 26 games, posting a 2.40 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. In Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s playoff matchup on May 12th, Murashov posted his first career playoff shutout, as Dubas stated he would continue to watch his performance as the Penguins series continued. He also acknowledged Blomqvist’s play, saying, “My full expectation is that two of them, Sergei and Joel, will be competing for a roster spot here this year. We’ll make the decision on the other one, but I think they both have earned, over the years now, the chance to compete for that.”
Dubas also spoke highly of Ville Koivunen, Harrison Brunicke, Owen Pickering, and Bill Zonnon. In 2024-2025, Pittsburgh called up Koivunen, who played in eight games and recorded seven assists. In the AHL that season, he was named to the All-Rookie Team after recording 56 points in 63 games. While he was brought up a few times throughout the season, Koivunen never found his ground and spent most of his time in the AHL, where he finished second in points for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with 41 points in 34 games. In terms of Brunicke, Dubas said it’s “The long run.” The 19-year-old defenseman opened the season with Pittsburgh as they took on the Rangers, and he’d go on to score just two days later against the Islanders, but after that, he slowed down, and Koivunen was exposed often. The 19-year-old spent much of his time at the WHL level before rejoining Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for their playoff run.
Pickering is the surprise, as he actually regressed this season with Pittsburgh compared to his rookie season a year before. Playing in only four games in 2025-2026, this is a major drop from the 25 he played in 2024-2025. However, Pickering played 68 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, logging great minutes. Dubas spoke of him, saying, “I don't think you could look at it and say there’s anything truly dynamic, but it was just steady, solid, reliable hockey, and that’s what we’re looking for him to develop into.” Zonnon was a first-round pick by Pittsburgh in 2025, one of their three. He signed his entry-level contract on March 22nd, as he finished his junior season with the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. The 19-year-old then joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he immediately jumped in, as he scored the game-winning goal for the Penguins in their playoff matchup. According to Wilkes Barre/Scranton assistant general manager Amanda Kessel, Zonnon “had been watching every game and studying all the systems and he knew them all himself.” With the success that 2025 11th overall pick, Kindel, had with Pittsburgh, his teammate, taken 11 picks after him, has the chance to succeed as well.
