Defenseman Exceeds Expectations, Eyes NHL Roster Spot

Heading into the 2025-26 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have shifted the focus to youth and development.

With more talent in the system than Pittsburgh has had in years – and 13 picks in the 2025 NHL Draft – top prospects lists are becoming more competitive and more difficult to discern. Since the prospect pool is deepening, The Hockey News – Pittsburgh Penguins takes a look at the top-20 prospects in the organization.

Ville Koivunen easily could have taken this spot, and it was even further evidenced by his toying with everyone else during the Penguins’ first exhibition game at the 2025 Prospects Challenge. Rutger McGroarty could have slotted here, too, and that would have been a pretty safe choice considering his common place at the top of most Penguins’ prospects lists.

Maybe this is too bold, maybe it isn’t. But Harrison Brunicke has done nothing but impress so far in his short tenure as part of the Penguins’ organization to the point that it seems like I’m running out of things to say.

So, without further ado, here he is at the top of my list as the Penguins’ No. 1 prospect.

There are so many things to like about how Brunicke plays the game.

Selected in the second round (44th overall) by the Penguins in 2024, Brunicke, 19, was the final return piece of the blockbuster deal that sent Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes prior to the 2024 NHL trade deadline. The 6-foot-3, 202-pound blueliner – coming into the draft – was known for his ability to shut down the opposition, and his two-way upside was intriguing.

Then, there was training camp in 2024. Barely anyone prior to training camp gave Brunicke a second thought after the draft, and he quickly began to get people’s attention. Only 18 at the time – and a few months removed from the draft – Brunicke put on such an impressive training camp that the Penguins kept him through to the end, as he nearly made the team out of camp and earned at least a nine-game trial.

And one year later, drafting Brunicke in round two – which, the pick used on him was originally a conditional first – is looking like a steal.

When looking at the raw numbers, nothing jumps out like crazy. Brunicke had five goals and 31 points in 40 games last season for the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL – he missed a huge chunk of the season due to a broken wrist – and he got the call to the AHL after his junior season and put up two points in 10 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS).

But a lot of it is about the process for Brunicke. Even if the points aren’t piling up yet, his skating is top-notch, his ability to evade defenders is elite, he is great in his own zone and on the penalty kill, he defends well one-on-one, he excels in transition, he plays with some edge, and he dominates the offensive blue line like clockwork. Brunicke’s a very cerebral player, too, as his reads are excellent in all three zones and he knows how to find the open man with a first pass.

What is most impressive about the blueliner from South Africa, though, is the way he skates with the puck. Brunicke explodes in transition and glides effortlessly as he takes the puck end-to-end, blowing by opponents and creating scoring chances off the rush. It’s easy to see how his skating is miles above pretty much everyone around him, and it’s the best quality of his game.

The Penguins’ organization is wildly impressed by Brunicke, and when asked about his growth this past year, there has been no hesitation from anyone to speak glowingly about him. In fact, when I asked WBS head coach Kirk MacDonald about Brunicke’s growth from the beginning of his AHL stint to the end of it – when he recorded a goal and two points in two playoff games and played in the top-four for WBS over some guys who had spent the entire season there – he started his response before I could even finish my question.

“Huge,” MacDonald said. “Honestly, it was. Credit to him, he figured it out quick. Came in initially, and – you know, he had 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 with the last couple of regular season games and the playoff stint. He was moving pucks quick, jumping into the rush… that goal he scored in the playoffs was outstanding. The less he does in certain areas, the more he accomplishes just by making a really good first pass, activating and jumping in the rush.”

Penguins’ Director of Player Development Tom Kostopoulos also didn’t hesitate to praise Brunicke’s growth and ability to apply constructive feedback immediately.

“I think he took the constructive criticism and was able to apply it right away,” Kostopoulos said. “If you watched his games in Wilkes-Barre, there was growth, but it took off. It was impressive how he grew into the games in the playoffs. He looked very confident for a young kid.

“So, we’re really excited about his potential that he’s got to be a really good two-way defender with offensive upside.”

The NHL and NHLPA is still pushing for the CBA’s new CHL-AHL rule this season, which would allow one 19-year-old CHL player per season to play in the AHL on loan. If the rule gets pushed through this year, there is no doubt that Brunicke would – more than likely – be the beneficiary, as he’s clearly outgrown junior hockey and is ready for the AHL.

For One Penguins’ Top Prospect, New AHL-CHL Rule Could Prove Crucial
On Tuesday, the NHL released its transition schedule for the new rules under the Collective Bargaining Agreement that is set to take full effect during the 2026-27 season. 

But if it doesn’t take effect – and Brunicke manages to have an even more impressive training camp than he did last season – the Penguins will have some tough decisions to make. They already have Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Matt Dumba, and Connor Clifton on the right side, and it would certainly take a lot for Brunicke to assert himself into a starting NHL role. But, if he wouldn’t crack the NHL roster, he would need to be sent back to Kamloops, where he’ll have to remain until the end of his junior season – and which risks stunting his development and opening the door for him to lean on bad, high-risk habits.

Brunicke has made it clear that his goal is to stay in the NHL this time around. The Penguins desperately need top-end talent on the blue line in their system, and Brunicke is the one with the most promise. If he develops to his potential, he could be a top-pairing defenseman, should be a top-four defenseman, and might see a floor as an effective bottom-pair blueliner.

Regardless, Brunicke has certainly proven himself in his short time with the Penguins and fills a dire positional need for the team – and he only figures to get better. His upside, intrigue, and sharp growth over the last year is what earned him the No. 1 spot on our Top-20 Penguins’ Prospects 2025 list.

Now, let’s see if he can earn a spot on the NHL roster come training camp.

Top-20 Penguins’ Prospects 2025: Biggest Piece In Guentzel Trade Proving Himself
Heading into the 2025-26 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have shifted the focus to youth and development.

The complete Top-20 Penguins’ Prospects 2025 list:

– No. 1: D Harrison Brunicke
– No. 2: F Ville Koivunen
– No. 3: F Rutger McGroarty
– No. 4: F Ben Kindel
– No. 5: G Sergei Murashov
– No. 6: D Owen Pickering
– No. 7: F Tanner Howe
– No. 8: G Arturs Silovs
– No. 9: G Joel Blomqvist
– No. 10: F Tristan Broz
– No. 11: F Will Horcoff
– No. 12: F Mikhail Ilyin
– No. 13 F Filip Hallander
– No. 14: F Bill Zonnon
– No. 15: F Melvin Fernstrom
– No. 16: D Emil Pieniniemi
– No. 17: F Avery Hayes
– No. 18: F Cruz Lucius
– No. 19: D Finn Harding
– No. 20: D Peyton Kettles

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