Pittsburgh Penguins\u2019 first-round pick Bill Zonnon didn\u2019t get any love from Team Canada for its World Junior Summer Showcase, but fellow franchise prospects Harrison Brunicke and Ben Kindel did. Zonnon was left off the roster, while Brunicke and Kindel were invited.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, two American Penguins prospects have been invited to the Team USA portion of the camp: forwards Will Horcoff and Mac Swanson. Another forward, Melvin Fernstrom, is on Sweden\u2019s roster.<\/p>\n
The showcase, with exhibition games starting Tuesday, in Minneapolis, Minn., \u00a0serves as a tryout camp for the IIHF World Junior Championship, with Canada, the U.S., Sweden, and Finland fielding teams at the camp.<\/p>\n
The popular international tournament for those under 20 is scheduled for Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.<\/p>\n
Kindel<\/a> was the Penguins\u2019 top pick in this year\u2019s draft, taken 11th overall. He has skill, but could be considered a little undersized for the international game at this point.<\/p>\n Brunicke, a 2024 second-round pick by the Penguins, had a strong training camp last year and flirted with joining the NHL blue line<\/a> for the start of the season. He also had a strong development camp<\/a> earlier this month. He is considered one of the Penguins\u2019 top prospects, and could well be one of the standouts to watch at the Showcase, where next year\u2019s presumed No. 1 overall draft pick, Gavin McKenna, likely will draw a lot of attention for Team Canada.<\/p>\n Zonnon,<\/a> an outgoing, strong forward with speed and good size (6 feet 2, 192 pounds) for a 2025 draftee, might have seemed like a candidate to make the world junior team, or at least get a shot. The Penguins selected him 22nd overall<\/a> last month.<\/p>\n Another of the Penguins\u2019 first-round picks last month, Horcoff<\/a> projects as a power forward.<\/p>\n