We’re getting close to the end of this year’s list of the top young players in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ organization. Today, at No. 2, we see the organization’s prized young defensemen who turns full time this season and looks ready to take the next step in his journey.
Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25: Graduates and Departed players in 2025 Top 25 Under 25: The best of the rest #25: Chase Pietila, D #24: Ryan Miller, F #23: Finn Harding, D #22: Peyton Kettles, D #21: Zam Plante, F #21: Brady Peddle, D #20:
Melvin Fernstrom #19: Tanner Howe #18: Tomas Galvas #17: Pierce Mbuyi #16: Jake Livanavage #15: Owen Pickering #14: Tristan Broz #13: Avery Hayes #12: Ville Koivunen #11: Hendrix Lapierre #10: Markus Ruck #9: Mikhail Ilyin #8: Joel Blomqvist #7: Liam Ruck #6: Will Horcoff #5: Bill Zonnon #4: Rutger McGroarty #3: Sergei Mursahov
#2: Harrison Brunicke, D
2024 Ranking: No. 3
Age: 20 (May 8, 2006)
Acquired Via: 2024 NHL Draft, 2nd Round, 44th Overall
Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 201 pounds
Elite Prospects resume:
The 2025-26 season was a wild one for Harrison Brunicke. He forced his way onto the NHL roster out of training camp – a rare feat for a teenaged defenseman. After nine games in the Show, next was a period of being a healthy scratch long enough to qualify for a loophole of an “AHL conditioning stint” for a 19-year old that by rule wasn’t allowed to play full-time in the top professional minor league due to his age. Following that, the Penguins assigned Brunicke to Team Canada for the World Junior Championships.
Out of sync, it wasn’t a good event that saw his ice time and role slashed drastically. A disappointing personal performance matched by a disappointing third place finish for the Canadians.
After that, the junior route was the only option that made sense. Brunicke was sent back to the WHL for the remainder of the season and told to focus on the areas that Pittsburgh wanted to see him improve on.
“It was unique,” Brunicke told The Athletic in June. “It was different. I bounced around a little bit. But going back to juniors, I was given things to work on by Kyle and Spez. Defending the rush, closing quicker, better gaps, stuff like that. Playing more minutes in juniors really helped me with that stuff. I just kept working on what the Penguins told me they wanted me to work on. And the communication was good and consistent the whole time. Early on, there was a ton of communication. They gave me stuff to work on and, honestly, that’s all I really have been focusing on.”
That ended up really growing his game, when Kamloops’ season was over there was one more change of leagues back to the AHL for Wilkes-Barre for the balance of the season. Brunicke emerged over three rounds of their playoff run as a legit top defender in the AHL.
“He was great for us,” WBS head coach Kirk MacDonald told the Tribune-Review. “He defended really hard. His skating ability really stands out, but I think just how he competes. His puck decisions really improved since the previous year, and even when he was with us for a conditioning stint in November. He’s a horse for us. He was playing huge minutes in every situation. Top power-play unit. Killing penalties. Every situation late in games. It was just really cool to see the process. I’ve gotten to know him as a player, and what he brought to the table on a long playoff run was great to see.”
Count his teammates as true believers.
“No one in the league can skate the way he can,” Wilkes-Barre forward Avery Hayes said. “And no one in the league can do the things from the blue line that he can do. I’m just having fun watching this guy play right now. Unreal hockey player.”
Coaches being coaches, MacDonald cut through the hype with what impressed him the most.
“Everyone talks about his skating ability,” MacDonald said. “And how he can move pucks. But did you see how many shots he blocked (in Game 4)? That, to me, is what separates him. The way he competes in the D-zone. He makes great players offensively for us at this level. But he’s great on the penalty kill. He’s great down low. Great stuff.”
Developing a consistent stopping game and refining his decision making is the final piece to the puzzle for Brunicke. It’s one of those things that only time and experience can fully unlock, by year’s end he was showing real payoff in strengthening his weak areas.
The question now is what comes next. Brunicke could take heart in the career path of Kris Letang — a defenseman who also forced his way onto an NHL roster as a teenaged for a brief debut at 19. Letang was reassigned to the AHL at age-20 in his first pro year but only stayed for 10 AHL games before getting called up and never seeing that league again.
In Brunicke’s case, more patience could be in store. The Pens are deep enough on the right side to where they could allow Brunicke more development time to settle in and keep growing in the AHL. It’s been a while since Brunicke had a full season to stay on one team at one level, without bouncing around up and down and all over the place. A little stability could go a long way to helping Brunicke’s progression.
That said, Brunicke had a great September last year, playing so well the Pens had basically no choice but to keep him. He is better now than he was 12 months ago. Numbers and veterans be dammed, there’s a case that Brunicke could show he’s among the top seven defenseman and work his way right back into the NHL group once again.
Regardless of the short-term placement, the Pens have to be thrilled about Brunicke’s performance in the AHL playoffs – where he looked like he could be a future big deal in the NHL one day. Between his size, skating, game control and now burgeoning defensive work, Brunicke has every single tool needed to become a top-pair defenseman. Now he just needs a little more time to keep putting it together as he seemingly finally transfers full-time into his pro career.
