Height\/Weight: 5\u201910\u201d, 183 lbs<\/p>\n
Reports from around the time when the Penguins selected him in last spring\u2019s draft all have a similar theme of describing Howe\u2019s aggressive, competitive, Brad Marchand-style pest-like approach to the game:<\/p>\n Howe is the kind of player you absolutely can\u2019t stand in your beer league games. He shows up giving an effort level that is way beyond what you expect for an 11:00 p.m. faceoff, he\u2019s chirping on the ice and from the bench all night long, and at some point he\u2019s going to knock you off the puck, walk it in for a prime scoring chance and let you know about it. \u2014The Athletic\u2019s Jesse Marshall<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHowever people view Brad Marchand is what I see in [Howe]. . He\u2019s a guy that\u2019s got that fire, that competitiveness in his game. There\u2019s not many checks he won\u2019t finish, yet he\u2019s got that offensive touch to play up and down a lineup, in the top six. He has that scoring and playmaking ability to play with elite players.\u201d \u2014 Regina Pats head coach Brad Herauf, per NHL.com\u2019s Mike G. Morreale <\/a><\/p>\n Howe used that energy to take a step toward the AHL during his fourth junior hockey campaign.<\/p>\n The former teammate of Connor Bedard and captain of the Regina Pats adjusted from a midseason trade to score 39 points (12 goals, 27 assists) in 37 games with the Calgary Hitmen.<\/p>\n The winger also represented Team Canada at the 2025 World Junior Championship and scored a goal during the team\u2019s quarterfinals loss to Czechia.<\/p>\n He later helped the Hitmen make it to the conference semifinal of the WHL playoffs with nine points (two goals, seven assists) in six postseason games. Howe is wearing No. 9 in the clips below.<\/p>\n That campaign put Howe on track to make his Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton debut when eligible for AHL play this fall, especially after WBS general manager Jason Spezza complimented his development in March.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say probably his consistency off the puck has gotten better in terms of his ability to reload, his ability to kind of keep a high pace during a shift, and I think he\u2019s just grown in a lot of his kind of smaller habits that I call pro habits that we\u2019re trying to really encourage him to get better at,\u201d Spezza said in March, per NHL.com\u2019s Adam Kimelman<\/a>. \u201cI think that\u2019s been, for me, the biggest area of growth.\u201d<\/p>\n Howe meanwhile said at the time, per Kimelman, he believed that \u201cwith a good summer I have a really good shot\u201d at the next level.<\/p>\n Then came the bad injury news.<\/p>\n Howe\u2019s season ended in the WHL playoffs with knee injury, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas announced<\/a> on April 24 that Howe had undergone reconstructive surgery on a torn right ACL.<\/p>\n Howe\u2019s expected recovery time is nine months, according to the press release, so the winger won\u2019t be on track to return until late January.<\/p>\n Spezza said in July that Howe will still spend the next season with Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton while recovering.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019ll miss a good chunk of the season to start. We\u2019ll take things slow with him. With the injury that he had, it\u2019s important that he\u2019s 100 percent healthy,\u201d Spezza told reporters<\/a> at development camp on July 15. \u201cBut he\u2019ll be in Wilkes next year. When he\u2019ll be back from the injury is a little more up in the air, based on what he\u2019s feeling. And we won\u2019t rush him, either. It\u2019s a young kid. You want to make sure the rehab goes smooth, and just put it behind him.\u201d<\/p>\n Howe\u2019s three-year entry level contract is set to begin in 2025-26. The Penguins will want to make sure he\u2019s healthy and ready to play, especially because Howe is both an undersized and physical player. He\u2019s got a lot of rehab work to get back up to speed and then will have to jump into the AHL season when everyone else is at mid-season speed. It\u2019s not an easy task and makes for a tough outlook in the near future as Howe makes the already difficult transition from Junior to AHL levels while also dealing with a massive injury.<\/p>\n Howe\u2019s former linemate Ben Kindel is also in the Penguins organization, and fellow linemate Oliver Tulk was invited<\/a> to development camp in July. Potentially getting the chance to play with some of his former WHL teammates down the road might eventually help ease Howe\u2019s transition to the next level.<\/p>\n The best-case scenario for Howe next season involves a smooth recovery from knee surgery, a careful ramp-up to play, and a strong professional debut that leads to him finishing out the season with the WBS Penguins.<\/p>\n The Penguins could use some agitators in the lineup after some lackluster performances over the last few seasons. If Howe is able to infuriate his AHL opponents like he did for four seasons in the WHL, he could make a compelling case for the Penguins to call him up some time during the 2026-27 campaign.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot_2025_08_04_at_3.46.21_PM.png\"\/)
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