Pittsburgh Penguins training camp is about a month away, and there are a lot of storylines to watch going into it.
The defense is a significant question mark heading into the season since nobody knows how the left side is going to shake out. The Penguins have options on that side, but the players will have to jockey for playing time once camp starts.
There will also be a battle for the third pairing spot on the right side of the defense, something I wrote about yesterday when I examined the right side of the defense as a whole. The backup goaltender spot will even be up for grabs after the Penguins traded for Arturs Silovs in July. He will compete with Joel Blomqvist, who made his NHL debut last season but struggled during his second stint later in the year.
Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen both made their NHL debuts last season and got to show what they can do in a top-six role, especially down the stretch. McGroarty made the team out of camp, but after two games, it was clear he wasn't ready, which led to him being sent down to the AHL for most of the year before being brought up in late-March with Koivunen.
They will be gunning for full-time spots when camp starts, but what about the other young players in the system? Let's take a look at a few of those players who will try to make the NHL roster this year.
Filip Hallander
Hallander spent the last two seasons in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) before the Penguins signed him to a two-year deal at the end of April. He got picked by the Penguins in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft and made his NHL debut with the Penguins during the 2021-22 season before going to Sweden in 2023.
He turned into a different player in Sweden, finishing the 2024-25 season with 26 goals and 53 points in 51 games. His 26 goals and 53 points ranked second in the SHL during the year. He has really worked on his playmaking and goalscoring ability and will try to bring both of those to camp and the preseason.
Even though there are a lot of forwards still on the roster, the Penguins won't hesitate to make room for Hallander if he shows enough in September.
Tristan Broz
Broz made his professional debut with the WBS Penguins last year and didn't look out of place, compiling 19 goals and 37 points in 59 games. He also had one goal and three points in two playoff games before the baby Penguins got eliminated.
Before that, he helped the University of Denver win the national title during the 2023-24 season and score the game-winning goal to send Denver to the National Championship Game.
He's down the pecking order at forward, but will have the opportunity to show the new coaching staff what he can do. Even if he doesn't make the opening night roster, there's still a world where he makes his debut during the season, especially if he is performing well in WBS.
Harrison Brunicke
Outside of McGroarty and Koivunen, Brunicke is going to be the prospect that a lot of fans have their eyes on next month. He wants to take the next step in his career and make the NHL team out of camp after coming so close last year. He got to the end of camp before he was one of the Penguins' final cuts.
Brunicke spent the year with his WHL team, the Kamloops Blazers, and finished with five goals and 30 points in 41 games before making his WBS Penguins debut at the end of the year. He had two assists in 10 regular-season games before finishing the playoffs with a goal and an assist.
WBS Penguins head coach Kirk MacDonald was super impressed with Brunicke's small sample size when he spoke about it during development camp last month.
"Huge. Honestly, it was. Credit to him, he figured it out quick,” MacDonald said. “Came in initially and in junior habits, where you can just skate by people and hold on to the puck for a long time; I thought he did a really good job. Last couple of regular season games and the playoff stint, he was moving pucks quick, jumping into the rush, the goal he scored in the playoffs was outstanding.”
“I thought his ability to kill plays, again, the less he does in certain areas, the more he accomplishes. I mean that by just making a really good first pass and then activating and jumping in the rush. We want our D to be aggressive and try to create offense, but it doesn’t mean necessarily having to skate through everybody. I think once he kinda recognized that, he was a little more patient with his game. The offense came to him. He did a great job.”
A nine-game trial could be in the cards for Brunicke if he picks up from where he left off at the end of the year.
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