By all indications, there is going to be a pretty substantial youth movement on the Pittsburgh Penguins' roster for the 2025-26 season.
However, there's a possibility that one of their top forward prospects won't be along for the ride.
On Wednesday, Penguins' forward Vasily Ponomarev's KHL rights were traded from Spartak Moskva to Avangard Omsk. Ponomarev is a pending-restricted free agent (RFA) for Pittsburgh.
While, at this point, the news doesn't say much on its own, that's not necessarily the case.
Avangard's GM, Alexey Sopin, used the verbiage "several years" in reference to Ponomarev joining his organization. This comes in conjunction with a social media post by Avangard that stated Ponomarev as a "newcomer."
The translation of the post according to Google Translate:
Let's see our newcomer, forward Vasily Ponomarev, in action 😎-
Winner of the World Challenge Cup (2019), the Hlinka / Gretzky Cup (2019) and the Calder Cup (2022). He has been called up to the junior team more than once. And he has gained enough experience in North America 😉
There has yet to be an official announcement from Avangard, and the Penguins can still extend Ponomarev a qualifying offer to retain his NHL rights. However, the signs - at this time - point to Ponomarev leaving North America and the Penguins for the KHL, which may or may not change some things in terms of positional battles for the NHL roster next season.
Ponomarev, 23, was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the blockbuster Jake Guentzel deal before the 2024 trade deadline. He played in two NHL games for the Canes - registering a goal and two points - prior to joining the Penguins' organization.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound center was up-and-down between the AHL and NHL last season, appearing in seven NHL games and recording no points. In 55 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) - Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate - this season, Ponomarev had 15 goals and 41 points to go along with a plus-7 in top-six minutes.
If he re-signs with the Penguins, he figures to be in prime position to, potentially, claim an NHL roster spot with the Penguins next season, given factors such as the Penguins' positional needs, his AHL production, and his two-way prowess.
Ponomarev is one of five pending-RFAs for the Penguins this summer, with the others being forwards Connor Dewar and Philip Tomasino as well as defensemen Conor Timmins and P.O Joseph.
Penguins' Roster Breakdown: Which Young Players Have Realistic Hopes Of Cracking NHL Roster Next Season?
The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> are heading into the 2025-26 season with full intentions of having a youth movement on their NHL roster.
Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!