The Pittsburgh Penguins made a flurry of moves Tuesday, sending young blueliner Owen Pickering back to the AHL, placing three others on injured reserve, and recalling two veterans and top goaltending prospect Sergei Murashov from the AHL.
But that’s not the only roster decision they will have to make in the coming days.
Defensive prospect Harrison Brunicke played in his ninth NHL game Monday in a gut-wrenching 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and that means he has reached the first benchmark as far as his contract status.
Should Brunicke play in another NHL game this season, his three-year entry-level contract would kick in this season – as is the case with 18-year-old rookie Ben Kindel, who already reached that point and played in his 12th NHL game Monday. The Penguins also have the option to re-assign him to his junior team, the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL.
Last week, we did detail a third option, which would involve the Penguins taking advantage of a loophole by sending the 19-year-old Brunicke to the AHL for a five-game- or 14-day-maximum conditioning stint after being scratched for five consecutive NHL games. While this is certainly still an option, with Brunicke reaching his ninth game, it’s probably not as likely at this point.
So, that brings us to the million-dollar question: What should the Penguins do with Brunicke?
In all honesty, this is a really tough call for the Penguins.
What Will The Penguins Do With Top Defensive Prospect Harrison Brunicke?
On Thursday, it was confirmed by Pittsburgh Penguins‘ head coach Dan Muse that 18-year-old center Ben Kindel will remain in the NHL through his 10th game, meaning the first year of his three-year entry-level contract will kick in.
On one hand, the young rookie blueliner – just like most teenage defensemen at the NHL level – has seen his fair share of struggles in his first nine NHL games. After a pretty strong start to the season, Brunicke’s play has faded in recent games, even if those games have been sparse because he was scratched in four out of five contests prior playing against the Winnipeg Jets Saturday and Leafs Monday.
He looks like he’s simply trying to stay afloat in his own zone at times, and he has made some pretty consequential mistakes that have led to goals against. This happened twice in the St. Louis Blues game on Oct. 27, once in the Winnipeg game, and – sorta – once in the Leafs’ game, even if the blame wasn’t much on him for the last one.
But, on the other hand, the flashes of potential have also been evident. His first NHL goal against the New York Islanders in the Penguins’ second game of the season was a thing of beauty – and was the exact kind of play that fans should get accustomed to seeing from him, as he used his skating ability to join the rush and his strong offensive instincts to use the defenseman as a screen on his shot.
We’ve also seen Brunicke make some strong stick plays defensively, which is one of his strong suits. We’ve seen his ability to backcheck with his skating. We’ve seen him willing to stand up for his teammates and willing to both play a physical game and take contact to make plays.
And, honestly, Brunicke played quite well in his ninth game until the Leafs’ fourth goal, and it hardly seems fair to single him out on that play when the entire team collapsed in the third period.
Yes, his play has been uneven. Yes, the Penguins are winning hockey games, and they can’t really afford to let him make too many mistakes at the expense of the team’s success right now. Yes, he might not quite be ready for the NHL level on a regular basis right now.
That said, the best thing for Brunicke is to remain in Pittsburgh – at least, for now.
For one, it’s worth considering that the two biggest areas of growth that need to happen in Brunicke’s game involve his reads in the defensive zone and his tendency to try to do too much. While there’s no denying those things, there’s also no denying his talent. Part of the issue with Brunicke is that he’s been required to do too much at the junior level for so long because he’s so much better than the vast majority of the competition down there – and that has probably lent to him developing that “junior habit” of doing it all himself.
He has already identified that as something he’s actively working on. Even Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) head coach Kirk MacDonald said during prospect development camp in July that Brunicke was guilty of that in the first part of his 12-game AHL stint at the end of last season – but that, once he simplified his game, the growth was quick and exponential.
As far as the defensive reads… how are those supposed to get better if he’s playing against largely inferior competition on a nightly basis? Unfortunately, for most young defensemen – especially blueliners as young as Brunicke – they kind of need to be thrown to the wolves a bit in order to adjust to NHL speed. That adjustment is not something that’s going to happen at the junior level.
It’s been well-documented by the Penguins’ staff that Brunicke is very coachable. And, not only that, he learns quickly and steeply. MacDonald said as much. So did Penguins’ director of player development Tom Kostopoulos.
What Is The Best Developmental Path For Top Prospect Harrison Brunicke In 2025-26?
For 19-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins‘ defensive prospect Harrison Brunicke, it is only a matter of time.
Brunicke is a cerebral player, and he has a track record of being able to apply his “learning moments” in a relatively expeditious fashion. Perhaps that hasn’t quite happened yet to the extent that many want to see, but it will happen.
Of course, if he does stay, there has to be a balance struck between that in-game learning curve and managing his appearances in the lineup. Brunicke has never played a full season of hockey at the junior level, and he should not play in every game remaining this season for the Penguins.
Beyond just the workload portion of it, the organization will also need to weigh his confidence and be able to draw a line between letting him play out his mistakes and him losing his confidence because of those mistakes. I think we’ve already seen Brunicke unsure of himself at times over these last several appearances, and it’s important to manage expectations in that sense.
And that’s something that is definitely within their power – and their ability – to accomplish with Brunicke still on the NHL roster. More important than anything, perhaps, too, is that sticking around this season will afford him the opportunity to learn from two likely future Hall-of-Fame defensemen on the right side in Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang, and he will also have more time to work with a coaching staff that specializes in development.
Brunicke has potential to be a future top-pairing defenseman for the Penguins, and he is their best prospect at the position. They can’t afford to get it wrong with his development, and – in a perfect world – he would be able to spend the entire 2025-26 season developing at the AHL level.
However, this isn’t a perfect world. And Brunicke is far from a perfect defenseman at this point. But if the Penguins are truly committed to development and doing what is best for their very best young talent, they should take the opportunity to continue working with Brunicke for as long as they possibly can this season.
Lend him to Team Canada for World Juniors in December. Send him back to the WHL by the 40-game mark if there appears to be no growth or improvement in his game. But, for now, the best thing is for him to remain in Pittsburgh and learn from the very best.
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