PensBurgh’s 2026 edition of the Top 25 Under 25 countdown rolls on with a newly drafted forward with a lot of upside and promise for the future.
Catch up on the previous entries for this year:
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 (bonus): Brady Peddle, D
#20: Melvin Fernstrom, F
#19: Tanner Howe
#18: Tomas Galvas
#17: Pierce Mbuyi, LW
2025 Ranking: n/a
Age: 18 (April
17, 2008)
Acquired via: 2026 draft, third round, No. 86 overall pick
Height/weight: 5’10”, 163 lbs
Two things are immediately evident upon seeing Pierce Mbuyi. One, he’s incredibly skilled. Two, he looks pretty slight on the ice. In this day and age, Mbuyi has some good models to pattern himself after for players in the same mold.
Offensive ability and upside may be what got Mbuyi on the map and made him a relatively high draft pick, but it’s the engine, two-way play and IQ away from the puck that could make him special. Point is known for it, and Benson is one of the newest darlings with him impact that stretches well beyond goals and assists.
“I think I’m a high-energy offensive forward,” Mbuyi said this summer. “I think I compete very hard — that’s one of the big things in my game, my work ethic. I think that paired with the skill I have, my compete and my skill bring me over the edge and help me produce offensively.
“I want to become more of an evened-out player. I think I took the right steps last year, but, of course, I have room to improve there.”
So far it’s been so good, Mbuyi was one of the most visible performers at Pittsburgh’s recent development camp, drawing rave reviews from director of player development Tom Kostopolous.
“We’re still getting to know Pierce, but the creativity and the finishing ability and the playmaking ability, it was very noticeable,” Tom Kostopoulos said. “He’s got to get stronger and quicker, but you can see the intelligence out there.”
The future looks bright for Mbuyi, though it will require some patience in getting there. The Owen Sound captain plans to return to the OHL in 2026-27 and then will make the next step to Penn State in 2027-28. A few years of training and development should add the necessary weight to his 160ish pound frame as he continues on his path towards the pro ranks.
There’s good reason to remain patient with an interested outlook in that development, because Mbuyi looks like a prospect who could be going places. Several scouting services had him ranked in the 40’s entering the 2026 draft, TSN’s Craig Button had Mbuyi at 38th. It would be premature to label him as a steal for the draft but the hallmarks are potentially there to one day look back and wonder how this type of player could have fallen deep into the third round.
