October is the usual first full month for many hockey seasons around the world. With all the interest in the Penguins burgeoning and growing prospect pool, we\u2019re going to use today\u2019s off day in the NHL to put the attention on how things are going across the organization for their prospects and young players, based off last summer\u2019s list of the top 25 young players and see how their seasons have started out across the globe.<\/p>\n
A player that didn\u2019t even make the Pensburgh Top 25 deserves a special spotlight right off the bat. Carter Sanderson (sixth round pick, 2025) has been lighting up the WHL with a league-high 15 goals in 11 games. Sanderson is second in WHL scoring with 21 points. Major junior hockey isn\u2019t now what it once was due to all the talent going south to the NCAA, and at 19 Sanderson is one of the older players at that level, but that type of production is enough to still stand out as a big deal. Add in a strong showing at the USA\u2019s summer showcase<\/a> and Sanderson has a real chance at making the World Junior team in a couple months. Really nice glow up for him lately, he\u2019s definitely one of the fast-rising draft picks within the organization these days.<\/p>\n Sanderson is committed to play at the University of North Dakota in 2027-28, where he would be a teammate of the Ruck brothers if all comes to pass and the three end up going through with that plan.<\/p>\n In other news, Joona Vaisanen (who missed most of last season with a major injury) is back at Western Michigan and has seven points (2G+5A) in five games. Vaisanen dropped out of the Pensburgh rankings due to the unknown around his injury, it\u2019s nice to see him on the path to play his way back into the picture with a strong start and get back to his form from 2024-25 when he was quietly one of the top defenders in college.<\/p>\n With those very deserving honorable mentions out of the way, let\u2019s go back to this summer\u2019s Top 25 Under 25 list and catch up with the young players early in the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n #25: Chase Pietila<\/a> (Wilkes-Barre, AHL) \u2014 Modest stats in Wilkes-Barre (0G+2A in five games), earned his first call-up to the NHL recently, though he\u2019s yet to play. Arrow looks to be pointed up as the organization keeps seeing progress from the 22-year old with his defensive work and physicality.<\/p>\n #24: Ryan Miller<\/a> (University of Denver) – Has been playing mostly third line left wing so far in his freshman year. Not much statistically to speak of (1G+1A in six games) as he gets started in his college career. The positive for him should be working with head coach David Carle and one of the top programs in the country.<\/p>\n #23: Finn Harding<\/a> (WBS, AHL) \u2014 A two-point game over the weekend has Harding up to four points (1G+3A) in seven games in the AHL. While his style of play doesn\u2019t draw a ton of attention, quietly he\u2019s become a key figure for the AHL club.<\/p>\n #22: Peyton Kettles<\/a> (Kelowna, WHL) \u2014 Shoulder surgery robbed most of Kettles\u2019 2025-26, he\u2019s back and looking pretty decent (1G+5A, a fight) in his return early this season.<\/p>\n #21: Zam Plante<\/a> (Minnesota-Duluth) \u2014 Nine points (4G+5A) in eight games is good but below last year\u2019s rate of production (51 points in 40 games). Zam\u2019s Hobey Baker winning brother Max has only played two games on the season, they\u2019ll likely get rolling more as the year goes along.<\/p>\n #21: Brady Peddle<\/a> (Michigan State) \u2014 MSU is stacked with a lot of highly drafted talent. Peddle has a couple assists in five games, he has been playing on the second pair and partnered with seventh overall 2026 pick Chase Reid. Looks like a good place for Peddle to gain experience as he gets his collegiate career off the ground this year.<\/p>\n #20: Melvin Fernstrom<\/a> (WBS, AHL) \u2014 Fernstrom is back from the shoulder injury that ended his 2025-26 season and kept him out of training camp. Hasn\u2019t done much (1G+0A in five games) so far this season but is still just getting going and been in a lower line, limited role as he gets up to speed with what will be his first extended action at the AHL level.<\/p>\n #19: Tanner Howe<\/a> (WBS, AHL) \u2014 Only one goal and one assist for Howe to start this season, he was playing mostly in a third line role for Wilkes so far and now is injured<\/a> with an unknown return time. Injuries have unfortunately been a big part of Howe\u2019s career story so far, it looks like more adversity could be ahead.<\/p>\n #18: Tomas Galvas<\/a> (Liberec Bili Tygri HC<\/a>, Czech) \u2014 Galvas has no goals and just three assists in his first ten games back in Czechia this season. Given how deep the Pens are in the minors at defense it\u2019s understandable why they\u2019re giving him an extra year to develop overseas, especially now that he hasn\u2019t produced at the same rate as last season. Still early yet, but you\u2019d like to see a little more there as a runway to join the AHL club by the end of the season.<\/p>\n #17: Pierce Mbuyi<\/a> (Owen Sound, OHL) \u2014 Mbuyi (10G+9A in 14 games) is seventh in scoring in the OHL at the end of last weekend. He\u2019s been dangerous and doing his thing as an offensive weapon to an impressive degree at the start of the season, very nice start to the year for him.<\/p>\n #16: Jake Livanavage<\/a> (WBS, AHL) \u2014 Livanavage (2G+5A in seven games) ranks second among AHL rookie defensemen in scoring. Impressive start to his first full season as a pro.<\/p>\n #15: Owen Pickering<\/a> (WBS, AHL) \u2014 Pickering scored a GWG over the weekend to boost his statline (2G+1A) on the season. Has been playing lately with team captain Phil Kemp in a more defensive role. In the big picture he seems to be behind Ilya Solovyov and Ryan Johnson on the depth chart as he continues his crucial draft+5 season off to the side as far as the NHL outlook goes.<\/p>\n #14: Tristan Broz<\/a> (WBS, AHL)\u2014 It\u2019s the story of Broz\u2019s career, good AHL stats (3G+5A in eight games), still a bit off the NHL radar at the moment. That could change in an instant, for now it\u2019s nice to see that at least Broz is holding up his end of the bargain and doing well in Wilkes. The challenge for him now is to keep that up and see when or if he gets an NHL opportunity.<\/p>\n #13: Avery Hayes<\/a> (WBS, AHL\/PIT, NHL) \u2014 A great AHL start of nine points (4G+5A) in six games plus injuries on the wings in Pittsburgh opened up an NHL look. Might be short-term this time around but it looks like Hayes is on track to become an NHL regular sooner or later by the end of this season given how things are going for him.<\/p>\n #12: Ville Koivunen<\/a> (PIT, NHL) \u2014The Pens have been patient with the $32 million man, giving him some games in a decent role and he\u2019s starting to come through. Production was a problem last season (2G+5A in 37 games), Koivunen is almost to that level already (2G+3A in ten games). Koivunen is showing more frequent glimpses these days<\/a> of why the Pens were willing to place a long-term bet on him. Has to be one of the more encouraging opening months of the season for all their young players in the organization.<\/p>\n #11: Hendrix Lapierre<\/a> (PIT, NHL) \u2014 Interesting season for Lapierre as the Pens try to figure out what they have with him. He\u2019s been a healthy scratch for four games and at times deep depth. Lapierre also has six points (2G+4A) on the season in just eight games and now is getting more looks. Where he might fit if\/when the team gets healthier is still to be determined. driven largely with what he makes of the current chance to play.<\/p>\n #10: Markus Ruck<\/a> (Medicine Hat, WHL) \u2014 The second round Ruck leads currently leads Medicine Hat in points (4G+9A in nine games). The scoring rate is down a bit from last year, but this season isn\u2019t going to be much more than placeholder in the big scheme of things for the twins with a step up in competition expected next year at NCAA North Dakota.<\/p>\n #9: Mikhail Ilyin<\/a> (WBS, AHL) \u2014 Ilyin has been productive (2G+5A in eight games) in his first full season in North America. Given his age (21) and ability, this will be a nice development season for him and it looks like it\u2019s going pretty well so far as he gains experience and is working into becoming a key player at the AHL level.<\/p>\n #8: Joel Blomqvist<\/a> (WBS, AHL) \u2014 Kyle Dubas admitted the shortened preseason \u201csucked\u201d for someone in Blomqvist\u2019s position. He\u2019s off to a poor start in the AHL (1-2-1 record, 3.26 GAA, .871 save%) by the standards of his typical output down there. Doesn\u2019t look like he\u2019s pushing to get into the NHL picture any time soon.<\/p>\n #7: Liam Ruck<\/a> (Medicine Hat, WHL) \u2014 The first round Ruck only has 2G+5A in nine WHL games. Not terribly impressive, but not the biggest deal at this point either since 2026-27 isn\u2019t going to reveal a lot about the Ruck twins for the future. The lack of a great statistical start will make it easier to keep him off Canada\u2019s WJC team, to which he was already on the outside of the equation by not being invited to the summer camps.<\/p>\n #6: Will Horcoff<\/a> (U of Michigan) \u2014 Scoring a goal with 0.1 seconds left in a game is pretty cool. Horcoff has been playing first line left wing for most of the season, has a solid point-per-game average (3G+4A in seven games) to start his draft+2. Horcoff is an interesting prospect in that he doesn\u2019t drive possession or often stand out as a top player, but he also has very good hands and offensive ability and still finds a way to make an impact more often than not, perfectly exemplified with this highlight goal.<\/p>\n #5: Bill Zonnon<\/a> (WBS, AHL) \u2014 Decent output so far (3G+2A in eight games) for a player who has been put in a third line center role as a young 20-year old rookie in the AHL. Zonnon\u2019s progressing according to plan, he just needs more time to keep growing and gaining experience for the time being. He\u2019s getting that in spades right now down in Wilkes, exactly what one would want and hope to see.<\/p>\n #4: Rutger McGroarty<\/a> (WBS, AHL\/PIT, NHL) \u2014 McGroarty was dominant at times in the AHL (nine points in six games) and earned an NHL call-up when some recent winger injuries have hit. Now is the time for him to impress and stack some good games to enhance his position within the organization, it might take some more time still but you would figure he\u2019s in a spot where he\u2019ll get a long look in the second half of 2026-27 if the team remains outside of the playoff picture.<\/p>\n #3: Sergei Mursahov<\/a> (PIT, NHL) \u2014 Murashov has settled into more of a backup than 1B type of role early in the season, but he\u2019s still in the NHL and doing decently well. Something to be said for that as a goalie at age-22.<\/p>\n