General manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas and the Pittsburgh Penguins’ front office have worked hard to build back up the organizational prospect pool since he was hired in the summer of 2023.
And, on Thursday, yet another prospect ranking list showed just how far they’ve come in the last three years.
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Prospect writer Scott Wheeler of The Athletic released his annual NHL Prospect Tiers list, ranking the top-145 young players in hockey, which is a collaborative effort between other NHL prospect writers from the publication as well as from scouts. Players are divided into five tier categories: (1) MVP, (2) franchise, (3) all-star, (4) star, and (5) support.
Goaltender Sergei Murashov (4B) and center Ben Kindel (4C) were in the “star” tier, while winger Liam Ruck (5B), defenseman Harrison Brunicke (5B), center Will Horcoff (5B), winger Rutger McGroarty (5C), and center Bill Zonnon (5C) were in the “support” tier.
Only six teams in the NHL have more than the Penguins’ seven players on the list. In addition, 2026 second-round pick Markus Ruck was acknowledged as one of the players that barely missed the cut for the list.
NHL Prospect Tiers 2026-27: Scouts rank and project league’s top 145 young players (Gift Article)
NHL Prospect Tiers 2026-27: Scouts rank and project league’s top 145 young players (Gift Article)Macklin Celebrini moved into a class of his own in our annual Prospect Tiers ranking, with Matthew Schaefer and Connor Bedard close behind.
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Even if Pittsburgh doesn’t have any talent in the top tiers, the sheer volume of young players on this list speaks to how much Dubas and the Penguins’ front office has done to enhance the prospect pool in the last few years. The talent in their system is growing, and they have a handful of players who should make some degree of impact at the NHL level and in an NHL lineup.
And, if the organization’s front office – as well as its scouting and development team – keep hitting on their draft selections and continue to acquire the right young players, they only figure to keep adding to the number of young players and prospects that will be featured on lists like this.
Read our 2026 Top-20 Penguins’ Prospects list here >>>
Top-20 Penguins’ Prospects 2026: The Full List
Top-20 Penguins’ Prospects 2026: The Full ListThe Pittsburgh Penguins have an influx of talent in their system from the last few years, and THN – Pittsburgh Penguins counted down the Top-20 prospects in the organization right now.
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