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Rutger McGroarty, Pittsburgh Penguins (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)

Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins Became the AHL’s Best Team

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Mike Fink | Last updated Mar 8, 2025 11:55 AM ET

With all the trades going down on Friday, March 7, it’s easy to forget who plays where in the American Hockey League (AHL). Even the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, the affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, moved on from a key player when they traded Jonathan Gruden to the New Jersey Devils. Yet, the AHL team is left unfazed.

The Penguins look like the best team in the Atlantic Division, and it showed in their first game back from the trade deadline as they beat the Hartford Wolf Pack 7-1 in a comprehensive romp. The Penguins are in a tight race with a few other teams at the top of the Atlantic Division, yet they look like a team that can win it all, and it starts with their offense.

The Penguins Score & Score in Bunches

The Penguins trailed after the first period in their latest game, 1-0, but scored three goals in the second period and four in the final frame to put the game out of reach. “They’re really offensive and have a great power play,” Alex Belzile noted after the Wolf Pack’s 6-3 win on March 5 against the Bridgeport Islanders, a game that was supposed to prepare them for the Penguins. “If we try to go run and gun with them, we’ll just shoot ourselves in the foot,” Belzile continued.

The Wolf Pack tried to slow the game down, but it still didn’t help them out. The Penguins moved the puck up the ice and got quick shots on the net to make a struggling Wolf Pack defense look hapless and a good goaltending duo look like a weakness. The latest win wasn’t an oddity either.

All season long, the Penguins have run up the score. They scored seven goals against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Dec. 21 and scored nine goals on Jan. 29 against the Hershey Bears. The Penguins score, and they score in bunches, allowing them to make a close game out of reach in a matter of minutes.

The Penguins Offense

The Penguins average 3.47 goals per game, and it comes from a well-built offense from the top down. They move the puck up the ice and make quick passes, but more importantly, they find open skaters near the net. It comes from an aggressive mindset, but also with the players moving into scoring positions when they don’t have the puck.

The offense is impressive because they have a mix of veterans and prospects leading the way. They also have a mix of star power and depth, reflected in the fact that nine skaters have 10 goals or more this season. Rutger McGroarty is the prospect that most fans know about as the elite forward who notably demanded a trade in the 2024 offseason and was moved to the Penguins. He’s having a great season with 11 goals and 23 assists, but he’s just a part of a great group that has made this offense special.

The NHL team is starting to enter a rebuild and notably traded away a few skaters at the deadline. Whenever they decide to hit that reset button, they have plenty of young forwards in the AHL waiting in the wings, and it will accelerate the timeline. Whether it’s McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, or Tristan Broz, three skaters who have combined for 44 goals this season, they have the pieces in place.

Penguins Are a Complete Team

The Penguins are led by one of the best offenses in the AHL. They also have a defense that’s allowing only 2.79 goals per game. They can block shots and defend when needed to win low-scoring games. Any team that has Calder Cup aspirations must prove they can score, but also, forecheck and defend. The Penguins play a fast-paced game, but when things slow down, they can adapt and still win, explaining their 30-15-7-1 record.

The defense also gets some help from the goaltending. While the NHL team has been let down by poor play in the net, the AHL team seems to have great play every night between the pipes. Joel Blomqvist impressed when he was with the team before his call-up, and Filip Larsson, who has become the primary starter, has a .926 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.35 goals-against average (GAA) on 597 shots. If the Penguins need to win a goaltending duel, especially in a playoff series, they can lean on Larsson.

Can Penguins Make a Calder Cup Run?

This Penguins team is built to beat anybody and, particularly, run up the score against any team in the AHL. Led by an explosive offense and possessing great goaltending, they check off a lot of boxes to make a deep playoff run. That said, it won’t be easy with their division alone having a few great teams in it.

The Bears are still the team to beat in the AHL. They have the best record in the Atlantic Division; more notably, they’ve won the Calder Cup title in back-to-back seasons and are the reigning champs. Likewise, the Providence Bruins are also putting together a great season and have minimal weaknesses while being led by one of the best defenses in the league.

Then there’s the North Division, which has some juggernauts at the top. The Rochester Americans and Laval Rocket are set up to win it all with their rosters led by elite prospects on top of elite prospects. Both teams have a surplus of young talent looking to join the NHL soon enough, but before they do, they’ll help their teams make runs at the Calder Cup.

The Penguins are only one of the many great teams in the AHL. That said, they are built to win. They are led by an offense that can put any game out of reach, but when needed, they also defend, and in the playoffs, the games slow down, and they’ll be tasked with doing just that.