Penguins Desperate for Defensive Help as Top Prospect Poised to Make Main Roster Next Season

This season for the Pittsburgh Penguins has been full of ups and downs, but as they head towards the future, this is clearly a team that's ready to get younger around captain Sidney Crosby.

One spot especially they need a younger talent to come through is on the blue line, and while they've got Erik Karlsson (a trade candidate for the summer) and Kris Letang, this is a team that needs a standout young player to give them hope for the future.

Now, one has been identified, and it's a familiar name to Penguins fans, as Owen Pickering played in 25 games at the NHL level this season before heading back to the AHL, and with his performances there, he's emerging as a potential top-four guy in 2025/26.

Since heading to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Pickering has played in 35 games, posting 2 goals and 9 points alongside an impressive +21 differential, and with the way he impacts the game on both ends of the ice, it's unlikely that Pittsburgh can keep him in the AHL much longer.

All that success comes combined with a 6-foot-5 frame, as Pickering knows how to use his size to his advantage, and as he continues to learn the game at the pro level, he's only continued to improve and go from strength to strength.

On the left side, the Penguins have plenty of question marks with Ryan Graves, Matt Grzelyck and Vladislav Kolyachonok, but with Pickering, they may have a defensive force that can stabilize this left side for years to come.

All of this depends on what the team do in free agency and in the trade market, but if the Penguins want to get younger and introduce some fresh faces into this lineup on a permanent basis, there's no one that fits that role better than Owen Pickering.