PHN 2024 Penguins Prospects Rankings 6-10: Real Talent, Exciting Long Shot

The Pittsburgh Penguins prospect rankings from six through 10 have almost always been an exorcise in list-stretching, imagination, and unlikely projections. Historically, there has not been a plethora of NHL talent outside the top five, but instead, a gaggle of players who might find their NHL destiny capped with a game or two on the fourth line before returning to the shadows.

The 2024 Pittsburgh Hockey Now Penguins prospect rankings include not only one player in the 6-10 range who will play in the NHL this season but also a recent first-round draft pick and a 19-year-old who tore up the Finnish Liiga last season. At no. 10 on the list, we include an exciting long shot whose NHL future is far from certain, but his talent level is impressive.

Yes, for the first time, Penguins fans should be optimistic. They will see some of the prospects instead of relying upon the misplaced hope of years past. For example, our 2021 list included Drew O’Connor at No. 7, but the others included names you never heard of again, such as Sam Miletic, Cam Lee, and Emil Larmi. The 2022 list included Nathan Legare, Lukas Svejkovsky, and Filip Lindgren.

Yeah. Not exactly a bumper crop.

However, the 2024 Top-10 Penguins prospects are a much higher caliber, and the 6-10 not only have a legitimate chance to play in the big show but genuine NHL expectations. Game on.

Per annual custom, we will move the prospect ranks to PHN+ later today. As a note about our grading scale, it’s more subjective this season. In previous seasons, we heavily weighted NHL readiness. This season, we’re equally factoring potential lineup impact; talent level and potential were strongly considered, so players such as Mac Swanson at No. 10 lept ahead of others who could play in the NHL this season.

See the prospects who have fallen or risen to just outside the top 10, including a potentially exciting Russian forward. Penguins prospects 10+.

Penguins Prospect Rankings, 6-10

10. Mac Swanson

The exciting long shot.

His NHL future is far from certain. He was merely a seventh-round pick at the 2024 NHL Draft, and he is listed at only 5-foot-8, 167 pounds. That is the bad news.

The good news with Swanson is he has a motor without a kill switch and high-end offensive talent. As an 18-year-old, Swanson scored 26 goals and 77 points in 55 games for the Fargo Force of the USHL. Some amateur scouts called him one of the most exciting players in the USHL, with the courage to go to the net and the vision to make passes others didn’t see.

He’s headed to the University of North Dakota next season, so we’ll get a good look at him against top college competition.

Projection: AHL scorer, but a chance to shatter expectations. He probably won’t be in the Penguins organization for three or four years. Hello, 2028?

Defensemen typically take significantly longer than forwards to be ready for the NHL game, and Brunicke doesn’t figure to be an exception. Still, he’s got a bright future, even if he’ll be a player who is better when he’s not in the headlines.

Projection: Steady, second or third-pair NHL defenseman. We could see him in 2026-27.

9. Ville Koivunen

No. 8 comes with a word of caution. Koivunen touched the Finnish Elite League for 56 points in 59 games, and those who look at the stat sheet cannot wait to see him in a Penguins sweater.

However, PHN’s initial scouting reports, both in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and development camp, show an offensively gifted player who needs much work to adjust to the faster North American game. He tries to slow the game down, but the lack of space and increased speed on this continent make that more difficult.

If he can adjust, the Penguins might well have a top-six winger, but the adjustment is not easy, and the faster game does not appear to be his natural game. He’s a natural center, but the 6-foot, 167-pound forward is more skill than skating, so the wing is probably better for him at the top level.

Projection: Middle-Six Winger, perhaps center, ready sometime in the 2025-26 season.

8. Harrison Brunicke

The effortless skater with a right-handed stick.

The first of two Penguins 2024 second-round choices (44th overall), Brunicke was one of the younger players in the draft, so he will be stuck in the WHL for at least two more seasons unless he cracks the NHL roster. The right-handed defenseman is not an offensive juggernaut or a bone-crunching defenseman. Instead, he’s a smooth-skating puck mover who can defend his own zone.

He’s got the size (6-foot-3, 196 pounds) to protect the defensive zone, and he flashed his flawless skating in the recent Penguins Development Camp.

Read More: Rookie Camp Gets Intense; Standouts and Surprises (+)

7. Owen Pickering

The still-growing blueliner’s future is unclear.

Who is Owen Pickering? He’s grown two more inches to 6-foot-5 since his 2022 draft day when the Penguins picked him 21st overall. He’s also clearly heeding the advice of the Penguins’ strength and conditioning department by gaining 20 pounds. The young man was visibly more physically mature in June’s development camp.

However, his ceiling and floor are a bit of a mystery. He’s an all-around defenseman with an increasing wingspan but still a slightly awkward skating stride. He wants to add more offense to his game, but he’s shown poor decision-making with the puck in both his four-game AHL stint at the end of the 2023 season and a couple of them at the recent camp.

If he were a third-round pick, we would have put him outside the Penguins’ top 10, but his first-round pedigree and the organization’s faith in him speak volumes. He turns pro this season, and we’ll get a good look at his progression and potential.

We think his game is better as a stay-at-home defender, especially if he adds some physicality near his net.

Projection: Possible top-four defenseman, 2026. Possible bust.

6. Tristan Broz

After a slow start, his second-half surge last season with the University of Denver helped propel them to the national championship. He’s also a natural left-handed center, and he greatly improved his skating while flashing some hands in the Da Beuty League. His floor is a bottom-six winger who chips in offense.

His ceiling is a productive third-line center.

He slotted in the middle with WBS in their two Aril playoff games, when he aggressively forechecked and created plays and opportunities for his linemates, including Koivunen.

The 6-foot-, 178-pound forward will turn 22 in October and should have a shorter route to the NHL. We like his potential to crack the roster at some point this season. The bigger questions are where and how he fits.

Projection: 15-goal third-line winger who makes his NHL debut this season.