Things did not go well for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday night, dropping Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Finals series to the Toronto Marlies by a 5-1 margin. It was close game into the third period before the Marlies erupted late in the game to take over.
It sends the series back to Northeast Pennsylvania on Sunday night for Game 6 with the Penguins facing elimination in a 3-2 series hole.
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The series is by no means over, but it is going to take back-to-back wins to get through to the Calder Cup Finals.
Whether they pull that off or not there have been some big developments for the Penguins prospect pool during this playoff run.
First, there’s been the play of the young forwards that are in that “NHL Tweener” category in Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty. While they have yet to establish themselves as NHL regulars, they have been excellent AHL producers and have continued that through the playoffs. Both players have matching stat lines of four goals, five assists and nine total points in 14 games, while McGroarty just scored a huge game-winning goal late in Game 4 of the series, forcing a turnover and then finishing the play with a slick goal.
They still need to translate that over to the NHL, but seeing them perform in bigger games and bigger moments is an encouraging development.
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Defenseman Harrison Brunicke has also been, by all accounts, an absolute force on the blue line and at 19 years old, with only 32 games of pro hockey experience (AHL and NHL combined) entering this playoff run, has become the team’s unquestioned, without-a-doubt, No. 1 defenseman.
And he is impressive in that role.
Here’s what Wilkes-Barre coach Kirk McDonald told Josh Yohe about Brunicke’s play earlier this week:
“Since I saw him in Buffalo two years ago (at the 2024 prospect tournament) until now …” MacDonald started, shaking his head. “He’s been doing a great job. The physical tools have always been there. But now he’s recognizing when to go (jump into the play), and when not to go. He is realizing he doesn’t have to do everything for everyone on the ice. You can see it.”
And also:
“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.”
Given the Penguins lack of elite prospect depth on defense, and given the ages of their current right-shot defenseman, the development of Brunicke might be one of the most important elements of their prospect pool at the moment. Especially given his age, talent and upside. Stepping right into an AHL role at 19, with little pro experience, and taking over games as your team’s “go-to” defenseman is a massive development.
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Hopefully a big confidence boost as well.
Then there is starting goalie Sergei Murashov.
While he has had a couple of shaky moments over the past few games, he has been a big part of getting the Penguins to this point of the playoffs and is still owning a .930 save percentage through 14 playoff games.
His AHL numbers continue to pop off the page, and he is still making highlight reel saves (and a lot of them) on most nights.
There have also been some new faces making immediate impacts at forward.
Mikhail Ilyin, the Penguins’ fifth-round draft pick in 2023, came over from Russia late in the regular season, and after appearing in just two regular season games the 20-year-old forward has wasted no time making an impact in the AHL. He is up to nine points in 14 games this postseason after scoring his second goal of the playoffs on Friday night.
Heck of a shot, as well.
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The player that might be one of the most positive developments, however, is 2025 first-round pick Bill Zonnon.
After showing up at the start of the playoff run, having already studied and learned the Penguins system before he even arrived and sat down with the coaches, Zonnon simply started producing right from the word go and is up to seven points in 10 games. From the moment he was drafted there was a belief that he might have been the most NHL-ready and most sure-thing (as if such a thing exists in the NHL Draft) of the Penguins’ three first-round picks. Maybe not an overly high-ceiling player, but at least somebody that could be a very good middle-six forward in the NHL.
He has done nothing to dispute those claims, and might even be raising expectations a bit.
He is only 18 years old, had no pro hockey experience prior to a month-and-a-half ago, and has not only held his own in the AHL playoffs, he has been one of their most productive players since arriving.
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The Penguins farm system is still lacking that one “dude” at the top that has franchise-changing ability. Maybe Murashov can be that due to his position and ability. Maybe. Projecting goalies is like projecting Southwestern Pennsylvania weather. Who really knows? Even so, there is legitimate depth and a nice list of potential NHL players that could be productive players as early as next season. They are taking big steps toward that this postseason in the American Hockey League. It is encouraging to see.
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