Three young Pittsburgh Penguins are changing everything about the team's future
Photo credit: Edit from The Hockey News
The Penguins have three specific players who are the future and are going to change everything for them: Ben Kindel, Sergei Murashov, and Harrison Brunicke.
It's easy to get ahead of yourself in sports, especially with young athletes. Just like in any situation, circumstances can change in a split second. However, it's difficult not to feel a sense that something significant is going on with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Sunday afternoon saw top goaltending prospect Sergei Murashov finally make his NHL debut with the Penguins, called up due to his dominant play in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and with Tristan Jarry out with his injury.
The Penguins fell 3-2, but Murashov gave glimpses of why there is such hype about him.
The Penguuins just had their second sellout of the season as excitement continues to build around the team's youth
This is just what Pittsburgh needed. They had their second sellout of the year last night, and although it is naturally easier with their schedule and all, it is ultimately because this team is so much fun now.
Part of this is these three young regulars on their roster now: Murashov, 18-year-old forward Ben Kindel, and 19-year-old defenseman Harrison Brunicke.
All three players have burst into the NHL ahead of schedule. Kindel has immediately slipped into the lineup with five goals and seven points in his first 15 games, looking every bit like a top-six center.
Brunicke's playing time has been inconsistent, but his skating and talent have all the makings of a top-pairing defenseman if his defensive instincts can develop.
Murashov, on the other hand, is perhaps the biggest Penguins goalie prospect sensation since Marc-Andre Fleury.
Of course, there are a few gaps that need to be filled: another center, a left-shot defenseman to play alongside Brunicke, and a top-line winger.
But for perhaps the first time in a long while, Pittsburgh's next generation is beginning to cohere on NHL ice.
If Kindel, Brunicke, and Murashov reach their ceilings, then the Penguins' next generation is not something that will happen someday; it's already beginning.
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