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.
Today, we finally delve into the top-10, and we start with a forward who – despite facing some adversity last season – managed to grow his game at the center position and could push for a roster spot with a standout camp. At No. 10 on our list is Tristan Broz.
Broz, 22, was drafted in the second round (58th overall) by the Penguins in 2021. He played one season for the University of Minnesota after that before transferring to the University of Denver, where he won a national championship in 2024. He recorded 16 goals and 40 points in 43 games that season for Denver.
So – heading into his first professional season with the Penguins – the organization already quite liked Broz’s overall game and offensive upside. The goal heading into 2024-25 was for the 6-foot, 205-pound forward to work on his game at center, which is a position that the Penguins – at the time – were lacking organizationally.
It was mission accomplished for Broz last season – even with some adversity along the way.
In his first professional season, Broz recorded 19 goals and 37 points in 59 games, and he also put up a goal and three points in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s (WBS) two playoff games. Although those numbers might not jump out entirely, it’s worth noting that Broz was second on the team in goals until a long bout with mononucleosis kept him out of the lineup from late December all the way to early February.
Top-20 Penguins’ Prospects 2025: First-Round Pick Beginning To Turn Heads
Heading into the 2025-26 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have shifted the focus to youth and development.
Broz himself admitted that the road to recovery after mono was terrible, and it took some time to adjust his game back to the level it was prior to his illness – at which point, he had 12 goals and 19 points in 27 games. But even if his production didn’t exactly match up to the level it was prior to his illness, his all-around game at center was still thriving.
And once he got his legs back under him, he thoroughly impressed in the home stretch. During the final 10 games of the regular season, Broz put up two goals and nine points, showing off his playmaking prowess and his ability in transition. He plays a simple, intelligent game with the puck, and his play away from the puck is equally as impressive.
Broz knows how to find passing lanes, and he isn’t afraid to drive the middle. He also has a shot that plays well at the professional level, plays a responsible defensive game, and doesn’t shy away from contact, either.
Despite Setback, Penguins Prospect Broz Experiencing Growth In First Professional Season
Pittsburgh Penguins forward prospect Tristan Broz endured quite the setback midway through the 2024-25 season.
If his development keeps trending in the right direction, he could very well be a reliable middle-six option for the Penguins, perhaps even a second-line center. He has the ability to thrive alongside other intelligent players – for example, he and Ville Koivunen were often linemates in WBS throughout the AHL season – and he knows how to find players in transition and expose the danger areas of the ice.
The Penguins are impressed with Broz’s growth from this past season, and they should be. He is one of the more mature, intelligent players in the Penguins’ system, and if he has a good camp, he could – potentially – push for an NHL roster spot.
He is, arguably, just as NHL-ready as Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty. Had mono never set back his season, he likely would have gotten an NHL opportunity right alongside those two at the conclusion of the Penguins’ 2024-25 season.
Don’t count this guy out. He is one of the more sure bets in the organization to become at least a serviceable NHL player, so don’t be surprised to see him on NHL ice at some point next season.
Penguins Prospects Beyond McGroarty, Koivunen Eye NHL Roster Spots
Pittsburgh Penguins training camp is about a month away, and there are a lot of storylines to watch going into it.
The list so far:
– No. 11: F Will Horcoff
– No. 12: F Mikhail Ilyin
– No. 13 F Filip Hallander
– No. 14: F Bill Zonnon
– No. 15: F Melvin Fernstrom
– No. 16: D Emil Pieniniemi
– No. 17: F Avery Hayes
– No. 18: F Cruz Lucius
– No. 19: D Finn Harding
– No. 20: D Peyton Kettles
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