Three Penguins Prospects Listed Among Top Young Players by The Athletic

For a few years now, the Pittsburgh Penguins prospect group has been lacking talent, and unfortunately, it's led to the team failing to bring young stars to the NHL level, putting the organization in the position they currently find themselves in.

However, over the past 18 months, they've made moves to change that, adding several big names via trade or the NHL Draft, and already, the prospect pool has changed immensely.

In Scott Wheeler's latest piece for The Athletic, he ranked the top-122 prospects in the National Hockey League, putting them into tiers based upon their potential, with three Penguins finding their way onto the list.

In recent years, the Penguins would have been lucky to have one player on the list, but this year they have three; Harrison Brunicke (tier 5B), Ben Kindel (5C) and Rutger McGroarty (5C).

Wheeler described that tier as 'support', players that wouldn't be an integral piece in a Championship core, but would significantly contribute to a team that can contend for a Stanley Cup, and while the team would love a prospect in the top two or three tiers, getting three players onto this list is a major accomplishment for Kyle Dubas.

Only time will tell if the Penguins can get themselves into Stanley Cup contention in the next few years, but if they continue to build this young core there's a good chance that they can be a very fun team to watch for years to come.