Rising Penguins Blue Line Prospect Drawing Serious Attention

The Pittsburgh Penguins have several intriguing young names coming through the organization, and after getting a glimpse of both Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen in 2024/25, the next wave could be on the way.

Leading that wave is blue liner Harrison Brunicke, who made his AHL debut with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this season, and at 18-years of age, he's now drawing plenty more attention.

That attention comes after representing Canada in their pre-World Championship exhibition against Austria, and while he didn't produce many points on the night, he certainly stood out to those fans watching.

This all comes on the back of another great season from Brunicke in the WHL where he tallied a career high 30 points for the Kamloops Blazers, with the 18-year old showing great consistency and development.

Sure, he doesn't score like Zayne Parekh or Sam Dickinson, but Brunicke does all the small things right, and with his 6-foot-3 frame, it's safe to say that he will be a big part of the Penguins future.

That scoring has come a long way in recent times too, as he posted 2 assists in the 10 games he played for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton late in the season, with 2 points in their 2 playoff games, so keep an eye on him moving forward.

Originally drafted in the second-round of the 2024 NHL Draft, Brunicke has taken some great leaps in the past 12 months, and with the Penguins not putting together a loaded blue line, it wouldn't shock many people if he pushed for a spot on the NHL roster in 2025/26.