Penguins Look to Revamp Minor League System

New coaches will be the first step in the Pittsburgh Penguins attempt to build a vastly improved minor league system.

PITTSBURGH – It’s been two weeks, and the reports and rumors coming out of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization are already making waves. While a lot of talk is centered around the Penguins NHL coaching staff, the front office has begun making moves to the AHL group.

The Penguins announced that head coach J.D. Forrest and assistant Kevin Porter would not return for the 2024-25 season, opening a coaching search for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Assistant general manager Jason Spezza is heading the search, and part of his quote in a team release shows the kind of face they may be looking for.

“We enter into an era where each of those systems operating at an elite level becomes paramount to the future of our entire program.”

Spezza is referring to the Penguins minor league system as a whole between the WBS Penguins and Wheeling Nailers. When Kyle Dubas arrived as president of hockey operations, he made it a point to make sure the Penguins have a system in place to have those teams succeed and develop their top prospects into useful NHL talents.

“We felt it would be best to take this time to make the changes that our management team deems important to reaching our goal of having Wilkes-Barre become the premier developer of players and staff that can help the Pittsburgh Penguins win Stanley Cups.”

Changing bench bosses at the AHL level might be the tip of the iceberg for what’s to come. Spezza will likely be looking for an NHL-level coach to replace Forrest, and it wouldn’t be wrong to expect a few key prospects to start the 2024-25 season with WBS.

Multiple youngsters were added to the AHL roster before their Calder Cup Playoffs run was cut short. Ville Koivunen arrived and immediately made noise, while Tristan Broz made his professional hockey debut after an NCAA National Championship run with Denver.

The Penguins have high expectations for their prospects, and having a top-of-the-line minor league system to develop in will go a long way. 

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