{"id":650648,"date":"2026-05-18T16:39:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T16:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/650648\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T16:39:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T16:39:08","slug":"which-young-penguins-players-could-break-out-in-2026-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/650648\/","title":{"rendered":"Which young Penguins players could break out in 2026-27?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We have looked at bounce back candidates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We have looked at potential regression candidates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now it is time to look at some of the Pittsburgh Penguins young players that could break out in a big way for the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n

The candidates are mostly obvious, but how high should we be setting the ceiling?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dig into it a little bit,<\/p>\n

The most encouraging development for the Penguins during the 2025-26 season was the emergence and rapid development of center Ben Kindel. From the moment he arrived in training camp and started to play in the preseason there was obvious reason for excitement and optimism. And then he delivered on that far sooner than anticipated by not only making the team as an 18-year-old in his draft year, and not only sticking around for the entire season and playoffs, but also making a sizable impact.<\/p>\n

He was one of the drivers of the team\u2019s success for a good chunk of the season.<\/p>\n

He did have some moments where he ran into a rookie wall, especially later on, but that is to be expected for a player that age going through that sort of grind for the first time.<\/p>\n

At the very least, he looks like an NHL player. The question is what his long-term upside is, including in his second season.<\/p>\n

To try and get an idea I pulled up comparable rookie seasons over the past 20 years. The criteria: 18-year-old forwards in their rookie season, scoring between 12 and 25 goals, and finishing with between 25 and 40 points. It eliminates the 18-year-olds like Sidney Crosby and Macklin Celebrini that were clearly on a different level, as well as the players that did not stick around long enough to contribute or simply did not contribute as much as Kindel did.<\/p>\n

The comparable results were: Andrei Svechnikov, Cole Sillinger, Valeri Nichushkin and Evander Kane.<\/p>\n

Kindel, Svechnikov and Nichushkin were the only ones that also exceeded a better than 50 percent shot attempt share in their rookie seasons, indicating an ability to drive possession.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not exactly a big group of players to draw many conclusions or comparables from, which also kind of highlights how rare of a season it was for Kindel.<\/p>\n

Svechnikov took a huge step forward in year two. Kane took a small step forward offensively. Nchushkin was limited to just eight games in his second season and took a few years to become an outstanding second-line winger. Sillinger took a massive step backwards and has not really taken a major step forward ever since.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also not really an apples-to-apples comparison across the board because Svechnikov, Nichushkin and Kane are all wingers, while Kindel and Sillinger are the only centers on the list.<\/p>\n

The ideal scenario here would be a Svechnikov-like jump offensively. But I am not sure he has Svechnikov\u2019s shot, even if he might have the two-way game.<\/p>\n

Sillinger is the example you do not want him to follow, but I also think his rookie year was significantly better and more well-rounded than Sillinger\u2019s. Sillinger didn\u2019t push play to the same degree that Kindel did and received slightly more favorable situations and matchups.<\/p>\n

Kindel\u2019s not likely to be a franchise-level player or star-level player. But that doesn\u2019t mean he won\u2019t be a really good, really important long-term piece. The sort of jump he takes next season will give us more insight into what that upside can be.<\/p>\n

Brunicke\u2019s 2025-26 season did not follow the path many people expected, getting playing time in the NHL, WHL and AHL. There\u2019s been some concern that the Penguins didn\u2019t really help his development this season by jumping him all around to three different levels, and having him sit for most of the first half of the season while they made a decision on him, but I\u2019m not sure I agree with that take.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day he is going to play more hockey games this season than he did in each of the previous two seasons.<\/p>\n

He has also received a significant taste of pro hockey, including at the NHL level, and held his own as a 19-year-old.<\/p>\n

He just wasn\u2019t ready for full-time NHL action at that point. It\u2019s okay. It happens.<\/p>\n

He has been especially strong since getting an opportunity to play at Wilkes-Barre, including in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

President of Hockey Operations\/general manager Kyle Dubas has already made it clear that improving the team\u2019s defensive play is going to be a huge priority this offseason, and I can\u2019t think of a better place to start looking for that than internally with a player like Brunicke, even if it does not happen from the very start of the season.<\/p>\n

Honestly, he checks every box for what the Penguins should be looking for on next year\u2019s roster and would add youth, skating and a potential long-term defensive solution. He\u2019s been a highly touted prospect from the moment he was drafted and has impressed at every step in the process.<\/p>\n

They need somebody to emerge as a long-term piece on defense. Next year could be the start for him.<\/p>\n

There is not a young player in the organization that can change the Penguins\u2019 timeline for contention more than Murashov.<\/p>\n

I do not say that to put more pressure on the kid or raise expectations around him, but just to point out the reality of the situation and his position.<\/p>\n

The Penguins farm system has improved significantly over the past few years in terms of depth and potential NHL players. But it is still lacking that one dude that can be a top-tier player. If Murashov reaches his ceiling, he could be that top-tier player. And given that he plays the most impactful position on the ice, and the one that can change an entire season for a team, he could be the most significant player they have.<\/p>\n

But goalies are also maddening, volatile beasts that can surprise in the best and worst ways. There are maybe five established goalies in the NHL that you should feel confident in from one year to the next. Or even within the same season.<\/p>\n

Young goalies with no NHL track record are even more volatile and unpredictable.<\/p>\n

The good news: Murashov looks NHL ready, at least in the sense that he has nothing left to prove in the AHL. He has dominated for two years down there, and entering play on Monday has a .938 save percentage this postseason in his first six games. He is almost certainly going to be in the goalie rotation next season with a chance to make a difference. I imagine there will be some rocky moments at times, but there is also the potential for a major contribution.<\/p>\n

If they get back to the playoffs next season, my guess is he would be a big reason why.<\/p>\n

If you go back to the 2025 NHL Draft, the one Penguins player taken in the first round that seemed to get the most consistent praise for his game, and for being NHL-ready, wasn\u2019t actually Ben Kindel, but instead Bill Zonnon. He\u2019s been a favorite of prospect watchers all year and has received high-praise for his work ethic, two-way play and hockey IQ. He has done nothing but back all of that up on the ice in both the QMJHL and AHL. When it comes to the latter, he showed up having already learned the system on his own and was ready to be plopped into the lineup.<\/p>\n

He then scored two goals in his first two games.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if he will make the roster next season right out of training camp, but I could see a scenario in the middle of the season where he gets an opportunity and never returns to Wilkes-Barre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We have looked at bounce back candidates. We have looked at potential regression candidates. Now it is time…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":650649,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[4687,385,99,19552],"class_list":["post-650648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-analysis","tag-nhl","tag-sports","tag-statistics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=650648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/650649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=650648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=650648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=650648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}