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Penguins' Future Looks Bright as Most Exciting Prospect Revealed

Originally posted on Hockey Unplugged | Last updated Mar 24, 2025 10:38 AM ET

The future of the Penguins is looking more encouraging these days thanks to the accomplishments of prospect Harrison Brunicke in the Western Hockey League.

One of the players that fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins are looking forward to seeing eventually on their blue line is Harrison Brunicke, who was selected with the 44th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

Impressing Penguins brass at his 1st training camp in 2024, he nearly made Pittsburgh's opening night roster before being returned to the WHL's Kamloops Blazers.

So far this year, he has 30 points (5G, 25A) in 41 games played with the Blazers. But with their season over, he's now expected to make the jump to the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for their postseason push, something that he's looking forward to..

With how good that Wilkes-Barre team is doing, that is pretty special. Hopefully, I'm able to go there and reunite with those guys and have some fun. As far as I know, that is the plan. I think it's as soon as we can, basically.

I didn't really expect to go as far as I did. But I'm super grateful and fortunate that I did, and there were a lot of things that I could carry over into junior hockey and going into [2025-26] that can help me try to make the Penguins.

His scouting report via Elite Prospects:

There's not much Brunicke can't do. In an instant, he goes from locking down the net-front to ending the cycle. He sticks to his check, communicates, and follows pokes with hits. Off the rush, he easily matches fast-moving attacks to push them wide and get the stop. If all fails, he has the speed to recover.

He also represented Canada in the under-18 World Junior Championships last year, scoring 4 points (1G, 3A) in 7 games.

This article first appeared on Hockey Unplugged and was syndicated with permission.

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