Breakout Season May Be Coming for Top Penguins Prospect After Recovering From Difficult Illness

The Pittsburgh Penguins have landed some intriguing prospects in the past few years, but there are a few that go heavily overlooked, with one notable name in that group being Tristan Broz, a former second-round pick of the Penguins that was signed to his Entry Level Deal in 2024.

Unfortunately, he had to deal with plenty of issues during his first full season at the professional level, as the 22-year old Wisconsin native battled through mono as he looked to make his mark on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League.

In 59 games of his first professional season, Broz tallied 19 goals and 37 points, and given that he's got a solid frame at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, it's easy to see why there's excitement for the future of the young centre, even if he is overlooked in favour of names like McGroarty and Koivunen who got the NHL promotion in 2024/25.

That productive campaign comes after he scored 40 points in his final college season with the University of Denver in 43 games played, and after remaining productive despite dealing with mono (a disease that sees people experience extreme fatigue, fever and body aches).

Despite that, Broz remained very effective at both ends of the ice, and with the Penguins needing centre prospects to step up and push their way into the NHL, he'll remain a very intriguing name to watch for Penguins fans as they await the arrival of some future stars.