Heading into the 2025-26 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have shifted the focus to youth and development.
With more talent in the system than Pittsburgh has had in years – and 13 picks in the 2025 NHL Draft – top prospects lists are becoming more competitive and more difficult to discern. Since the prospect pool is deepening, The Hockey News – Pittsburgh Penguins takes a look at the top-20 prospects in the organization.
I have already mentioned how the Penguins – by most accounts – have a pretty clear-cut top-three prospects, and it is very difficult to rank between the three.
Forward prospect Rutger McGroarty was at No. 3, and I stayed on the forward front for this one, too. At No. 2, we have Ville Koivunen, who has already displayed some serious potential at the NHL level.
Apr 11, 2025; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Ville Koivunen (41) skates with the puck while being defended by New Jersey Devils defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic (8) during the third period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images” />
Again, it’s worth noting that the top-three prospects for the Penguins is a really tight race right now, and any one of them could have slotted anywhere. So, at this point, a lot of this is based on pure observation, but it’s also about positional need.
Even if the Penguins may have more pressing needs than top-six wingers, Koivunen is certainly one to watch as a top-six – and, likely, a top-line winger.
Koivunen, 22, was selected in the second round (51st overall) by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2021. He was brought to Pittsburgh as the cornerstone piece of the Jake Guentzel trade ahead of the 2024 NHL trade deadline, and – up to this point – he has done nothing but live up to the expectations – even if a lot of people didn’t even realize what the Penguins were getting in Koivunen at the time.
Fans were understandably devastated about losing Guentzel, a perennial 30-plus goal-scorer and near-point-per-game player – truly one of the elite left wings in the league. Even though Koivunen has big shoes to fill – and it’s not fair to expect him to match Guentzel’s production, especially in the goal department – he keeps getting better and better, and it’s encouraging when considering what he’s already done.
For starters, Koivunen finished his first full season in professional hockey with 21 goals and 56 points in 63 AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS). Had he not gotten the call to the NHL late last season, he likely would have finished first in AHL rookie points and in the top-three in goals. His 56 points were only four behind AHL rookie points leader Justin Hryckowian, and his 21 goals were only three behind Florian Xhekaj for third.
But Koivunen would certainly choose the NHL call over an AHL rookie scoring title. And he didn’t disappoint in that stint, either.
When called up from WBS along with McGroarty in late-March, he was placed in the top-six alongside Evgeni Malkin, and he later got a stint with Sidney Crosby after an injury ended McGroarty’s season prematurely. In eight NHL games, Koivunen recorded seven points – and he easily could have had himself a few goals, too.
He and McGroarty were trusted in the top-six, were on the ice at the end of games for six-on-fives, and – in Koivunen’s case – even saw time in the top power play unit.
The Penguins think the world of Koivunen, and they should. The 5-foot-11, 161-pound winger may not be the biggest and certainly needs to add some size, but his hockey smarts and vision rival those of some seasoned NHL stars. He knows exactly where to go with the puck, has some deception to his release in terms of shooting and passing, and anticipates to a tee.
He also isn’t afraid to hold onto the puck, survey the ice, and find the open man, something that a lot of rookies and players his age don’t have the patience to pull off.
Koivunen’s playmaking ability alone is enough to indicate that he’ll be an impact NHL player. He also has an underrated shot, skates well, and has many of the details that most young players need to round out already present in his game. And if he can add more of a two-way dimension to his repertoire, the sky is the limit.
Koivunen could end up being a point-per-game player at the NHL level, but even if he doesn’t, he should still be an impact middle-six player at minimum, given his toolset.
Yes, there are other pieces of the Guentzel trade yet to be determined, too. But Koivunen is beginning to show that he alone may be worth the cost a few years down the road.
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