Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton<\/a> enters the season with momentum after going 46-17-7-2 in 2025-26.<\/p>\nThe Penguins then made their deepest postseason run since 2014, reaching the Eastern Conference Final before falling to Toronto in six games.<\/p>\n
Head coach Kirk MacDonald returns for his third season after leading WBS to consecutive Calder Cup Playoff appearances. He owns an 86-41-14-3 record through his first two seasons.<\/p>\n
The bigger attraction for Pittsburgh fans, however, could be the prospects trying to make the jump from Wilkes-Barre to the NHL.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Penguins Prospects To Watch With Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton<\/p>\n
Bill Zonnon: Pittsburgh’s No. 22 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft joined WBS for last season’s playoff run and immediately made an impact. The forward recorded four goals and seven points in 11 Calder Cup Playoff games and is expected to spend a full season in the AHL in 2026-27.<\/p>\n
Harrison Brunicke: The 20-year-old defenseman played nine NHL games for Pittsburgh and 11 regular-season games for WBS last season before becoming an important part of the Penguins’ playoff run. Brunicke recorded nine points in 15 playoff games while taking on major minutes for WBS.<\/p>\n
Sergei Murashov: The goaltender went 24-9-3 with a 2.20 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in 38 AHL games last season. Murashov also made five NHL appearances and enters training camp competing for a Pittsburgh roster spot, so a return to WBS isn’t guaranteed.<\/p>\n
Rutger McGroarty: McGroarty recorded 34 points in just 30 games with WBS last season while also appearing in 24 games for Pittsburgh. Like Murashov, he’ll have an opportunity to earn a full-time NHL role during training camp.<\/p>\n
What’s New With Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton In 2026-27?<\/p>\n
Beyond its prospects, WBS has added some interesting pieces.<\/p>\n
Defenseman Brent Johnson arrives after producing 55 points during his rookie ECHL season with Wheeling, leading all rookie defensemen in scoring.<\/p>\n
The Penguins also have a new goaltending coach in Karel Popper, who spent the previous two seasons working with Wheeling and already has experience developing Pittsburgh prospects.<\/p>\n
WBS opens its season Oct. 3 against the Springfield Thunderbirds at Mohegan Arena.<\/p>\n
Who Are The Florida Everblades?<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh couldn’t have picked a much more successful new ECHL partner.<\/p>\n
The Florida Everblades are the reigning Kelly Cup champions after capturing the 2026 title. It was their fourth championship in five seasons, joining titles in 2022, 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n
Florida has won five Kelly Cups overall, the most in ECHL history.<\/p>\n
The Everblades are based in Estero, Florida, and play in the ECHL’s South Division. They replace Wheeling as Pittsburgh’s ECHL affiliate beginning this season.<\/p>\n
Why The Florida Everblades Partnership Matters<\/p>\n
The Penguins have emphasized a three-tier development system involving the NHL, AHL and ECHL.<\/p>\n
Florida gives young professionals another destination to earn playing time while joining an organization accustomed to winning.<\/p>\n
Head coach and general manager Brad Ralph enters his 11th season leading the Everblades and has been behind the bench for each of Florida’s four championships over the past five seasons.<\/p>\n
Because the affiliation is brand new, there isn’t yet an established history of Pittsburgh prospects moving between Florida and WBS. That should become one of the more interesting organizational storylines to follow as 2026-27 unfolds.<\/p>\n
How The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Affiliate System Fits Together<\/p>\n
Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton provides Pittsburgh’s prospects with the final minor-league step before the NHL, while Florida adds another professional development option in the ECHL.<\/p>\n
After WBS reached the Eastern Conference Final and Florida won the Kelly Cup last season, both affiliates enter 2026-27 with plenty of momentum.<\/p>\n
For Penguins fans looking for Pittsburgh’s next contributors, there should be plenty worth watching at both levels.<\/p>\n
NHL Prospect Coverage On FloHockey<\/p>\n
The best, and most complete, coverage of the NHL, minor-league hockey and NHL Draft is found on FloHockey. Don’t miss the latest new prospect guides, rankings and more from Chris Peters and the FloHockey staff.<\/p>\n
Watch the AHL, ECHL, QMJHL, OHL, USHL And More On FloHockey<\/p>\n
FloHockey is the streaming home to some of the best hockey leagues in North America, including the ECHL and more. Check out the broadcast schedule to watch more hockey.<\/a><\/p>\nJoin The Hockey Conversation On FloHockey Social<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pittsburgh Penguins are entering 2026-27 with one of the more interesting affiliate setups in hockey. The Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293364,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":["post-293363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}