PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins still have one of the NHL’s older rosters, but that number is aided by the presence of two very precocious teenagers.

And there’s a chance both might be sticking around.

Harrison Brunicke, 19, and Ben Kindel, 18, have played in five of the Penguins’ first six games this season. If the Penguins wish to save a season on their entry-level contracts, they must send them to their respective junior teams once the nine-game threshold has been crossed.

Team sources have told me in recent days that there is a real possibility that both teenagers will remain with the Penguins all season. It’s not set in stone yet, but several people in the organization are pushing general manager Kyle Dubas and coach Dan Muse to let the youngsters remain in Pittsburgh.

Although teenage defensemen in the NHL are something of a rarity, people I spoke to within the organization said they would be shocked if Brunicke were returned to his junior team. He’s been one of the Penguins’ better defensemen this season, and the Penguins, who aren’t blessed with a tremendously good or settled blue line, will have plenty of minutes for Brunicke. Also, it’s no secret that a possibility remains that Erik Karlsson, who is playing much better this season, will be dealt at some point before the March 6 trade deadline. That would open even more minutes on the right side, where Brunicke plays.

While there have been some learning moments for Brunicke, the pros have far outweighed the cons, and everyone I’ve spoken with in recent days is absolutely delighted with his rapid progress. Some of them believe Brunicke has All-Star potential. They also believe he is making the current team better and that his progress might only be enhanced by remaining in Pittsburgh, where he can learn from their veterans and play under Muse, who has a history of making players at this age better.

The more interesting case here might be Kindel.

My understanding is that the Penguins were not considering that he would make the team before training camp began. And they certainly weren’t toying with the idea of keeping him in the NHL all season.

He’s only 18, so he still has some physical maturing to do, and the Penguins weren’t interested in negatively impacting his growth by keeping him in Pittsburgh in a very small role. The thinking was that it’s better to let him play big minutes in junior hockey and let him develop at his own pace. This is fairly routine thinking in NHL circles, especially for an 18-year-old player.

Then, Week 1 of training camp turned into Week 2, and Kindel simply took off. His rise has been rapid and stunning.

Kindel earned a spot in the opening-night lineup because he was one of their 12 best forwards. Where he ranks now is subjective, but it’s pretty clear that he’s not merely one of their 12 best forwards. Frankly, he’s been among their best players at various times during his first two weeks in the NHL.

There is little questioning his offensive touch — Kindel is a gifted playmaker, strikingly smart with the puck and a deceptively good skater. But what has really impressed the Penguins, and what might keep him in Pittsburgh all season, is how impressive Kindel is defensively. Young forwards rarely excel defensively at the NHL level, but he’s thrived in that area. He’s also been surprisingly good in the faceoff circle and is capable of playing center or wing.

Like Brunicke, Kindel may be better served to be close with Muse all season. By staying in Pittsburgh, Kindel would also be exposed to the likes of Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust. He couldn’t have better role models on or off the ice, and the organization knows it.

My understanding is that several people in the organization are pushing for Dubas and Muse to keep both players with the big team all season.

The decision is ultimately up to Dubas. He’s never had more power in Pittsburgh, as the coach he personally hired is now running the bench, and the team’s owners are not exactly concerning themselves with the on-ice product these days.

Monitoring Murashov

The Penguins remain delighted with goaltender Sergei Murashov, who is off to a very strong start in the AHL. In three early starts with Wilkes-Barre, Murashov has allowed six goals in three victories with a 2.00 goals against average and .930 save percentage. On Saturday, he allowed three goals, but Wilkes-Barre won 6-3.

The @WBSPenguins are on a roll to start the season 🔥

– 3-0-0 record (1st in AHL)
– 11 GF (5th in AHL)
– 4 GA (4th in AHL)
– 5 players averaging a point per game or better

Tristan Broz: Leads WBS in goals (3) and points (4)

Sergei Murashov: 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .944 SV% pic.twitter.com/F6Vy1hqYgt

— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) October 18, 2025

A member of the Penguins staff told me over the weekend that “there’s no way he isn’t our No. 1 goalie in the future.”

Murashov was already viewed in extremely favorable terms before September’s training camp, but he only improved his reputation with how he performed in camp and in the exhibition season. Seemingly, the organization is excited about the progression that he continues to make.

Knocking on the door

Speaking of Wilkes-Barre, two of the Penguins’ best players in the early AHL season have been forwards Tristan Broz and Avery Hayes. If you were paying attention to training camp or the Penguins’ exhibition season, this should come as no surprise.

These two were about as close as you could be to making the NHL roster without actually doing so.

I’d be shocked if we don’t see both of them at the NHL level at some point this season, and it could happen sooner rather than later. It remains to be seen how effective the two forwards will be in the NHL, but make no mistake, they’re both going to get their chances at some point fairly soon.

No reunion

The Penguins will host the Canucks on Tuesday. Jim Rutherford, the team president of the Canucks who left his Penguins general manager post abruptly in January 2021, will not be in attendance.

Rutherford has not attended a game in Pittsburgh since leaving the Penguins. He did, however, visit PPG Paints Arena about a year ago when Kevin Stevens and Matt Cullen were inducted into the USA Hockey Hall of Fame.

Penguins Hall of Fame

Speaking of Stevens, he’ll be joining Ron Francis, Eddie Johnston and Scotty Bowman as new members of the Penguins Hall of Fame in a ceremony that will take place before the Penguins’ home game on Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Penguins have been slow to retire many numbers or add players to their Hall of Fame in the past decade. The team has been hesitant because it doesn’t want to cheapen jersey retirements if too many hang from the rafters.

There has, however, been a collective change of mindset in the past couple of years, and the team is now more eager to celebrate its star-filled history. My understanding is that it’s been a relative newbie on the Penguins scene — Dubas himself — who has made a very big push to honor past Penguins greats.