The Pittsburgh Penguins capped off the 2025 Prospects Challenge in style on Monday with a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. They finished the challenge with a 2-0-1 record, which is good enough to win the event for a third year in a row.
They started a bit slow by giving up the first goal, but were able to rally and beat the Sabres 6-3. Avery Hayes and Tristan Broz were once again the two big standouts from this game and are riding a lot of momentum into training camp.
Hayes tied the game at one, giving him four goals in three games. He was living in the offensive zone again and getting chances each shift he was on the ice. He was toying with the Sabres, and it clearly looked like he was too good for this competition. Hayes still has a lot of work to do to make the opening-night roster, but he’s showing that he could at least be a call-up option during the 2025-26 season. His defensive work and skating were also noticeable throughout this tournament.
As for Broz, he scored two power-play goals during Monday’s win, and both goals came from in tight. The second one featured Broz stuffing the puck home even though it was potentially about to go in before. Still, he made sure of it when he scored. He continues to ooze in confidence and will be an underrated young player to watch over the next few weeks and during the 2025-26 season.
Outside of Broz and Hayes doing their thing, let’s look at a couple of other players who had good performances to round out this tournament.
Benjamin Kindel
Kindel was a little quiet to start the Prospects Challenge, but that changed in a big way on Monday. It was a classic Kindel game, where he used his great hockey IQ to his advantage and out-thought the other team while on the ice. His first of two goals was the perfect example of that when he scored from in the crease, and nobody knew where the puck was except him.
It took the officials a couple of seconds to confirm that Kindel scored before dropping the puck at center ice. His first goal made it a 4-1 game before scoring his second goal to make it 6-3.
Outside of his two goals, he added two assists and almost had a third when he made a nasty no-look pass to spring a 2-on-1 for a good goal-scoring opportunity, but the puck didn’t go in. His development this upcoming season will be one to watch because he already has a lot of NHL traits in his game.
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Quinn Beauchesne
Beauchesne unleashed a rocket of a slap shot from the point for a goal to essentially clinch the challenge for the Penguins’ prospects. The goal made it 5-3 after goaltender Sergei Murashov made a massive save on a breakaway.
The skating was once again flawless, and he was doing a great job of going from defense to offense from his own zone. He’s set to play for the OHL’s Guelph Storm again this year after he likely spends some time at the Penguins’ training camp over the next week or two.
Next up for the Penguins is their 2025 training camp. It’s set to get underway at 8:45 a.m. ET on Thursday, September 18, and will run through October 1.
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