Headlining the No. 1 spot on our 2026 THN Top-20 Penguins' Prospects list is a dynamic, smooth-skating blueliner who has the potential to lead the Penguins' blue line down the road.
It's officially another season, another prospects ranking for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In years past, this has been a bit easier of an exercise, as there used to be a more clear-cut line between prospects with NHL upside and longshots. However, because of the work that general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas and his staff have put in during the last several years, the line is blurring a whole lot more - and there is a substantially higher volume of talent in the system.
This time around, making a top-20 list was challenging. So, a few criteria were put into place: To make our list, prospects must be under the age of 26 and have played less than 50 NHL games. This excludes names such as Ben Kindel, Filip Hallander, Oliver Okuliar, and Alexander Alexeyev.
At long last, we have finally reached the top of this year's list. It was a very difficult choice between the crown and the runner up this time around, and - as stated before - it could have gone either way.
But the reason we swayed toward this defenseman's second consecutive year atop this list? Well, it was the growth he showed throughout a very challenging 2025-26 season - and the Calder Cup Playoff run at the end of it sealed the deal.
No. 1: D Harrison Brunicke
It bears repeating that many folks who cover Penguins' prospects either have Brunicke, goaltender Sergei Murashov, or forward Rutger McGroarty sitting atop organizational prospects lists, with Murashov getting a lot of love this year (outside of one infamous ranking that has had folks talking). And no answer is wrong.
Brunicke, drafted 44th overall in 2024, made the NHL squad out of training camp last season as a teenager, along with Ben Kindel. While his first few games went well - and he scored his first NHL goal in his second game against the New York Islanders - the latter part of his nine-game trial was riddled with mistakes and inconsistency, leading to an AHL conditioning stint in November followed by World Juniors and a re-assignment to the WHL for the second half.
The fine print, so to speak, regarding the 20-year-old Brunicke is that he's still pretty raw. Dubas has spoken on several occasions about development not being linear for everyone, particularly not defensemen, and Brunicke is no exception. Even if he does crack the NHL roster out of camp this season or if he does see NHL minutes at some point, there are going to be learning moments and growing pains.
But even with those inevitable moments, he tends to find a way to impact a game in ways few others in the organization can.
The trademark of Brunicke's toolset is his skating, which looks effortless, smooth, and purposeful. He can not only skate circles around the offensive zone and generate chances using that momentum, his feet also help get him out of trouble sometimes. Perhaps Brunicke runs into a bit more trouble than some of his peers because he's able to do things others can't, but the difference is that he can - more often than not - weasle his way out of it.
His 6-foot-3, 201-pound frame - which he's certainly added to since measurements at the beginning of last season - does him a lot of favors in those situations, too, as he's big enough to impose his physicality on opponents. And he's doing that with a lot more effectiveness than he was before, especially around the net front.
Brunicke is a solid one-on-one defender, he's good with his stick, he blocks a fair amount of shots, he can chase and track down opponents with his speed, and he's even developed a bit of a mean streak. He still needs to work on his defensive zone reads and make better decisions as far as when to activate and when to distribute rather than simply carry the puck in transition, but once he's in transition, that's when the magic happens.
He is a force in the offensive zone, dictating play along the blue line and making quick in-zone reads. His passing stands out, his vision is high-level, and he doesn't shy away from pinching down the right side and getting pucks to the net himself.
Between the skating, the vision, the distribution skills, and the near-certainty of a puck hitting the back of the net on a shooting opportunity off the rush, it's possible that Brunicke has not yet even hit his offensive ceiling. And that offensive potential, as well as results, were on display late in the 2025-26 season.
After scoring at a point-per-game pace for the Kamloops Blazers during the rest of the WHL season, he registered a goal and eight points in 11 regular season games and two goals and seven points in 15 playoff games to go along with a combined plus-12 in those games. The defensive miscues were still there are times, and there were times when he tried to do too much.
But there were also flashes of dominance. Not only did he skate circles around his opponents with relative frequency, he was also the most noticeable player on either side of the ice most nights.
At 20 years old with limited AHL experience, he was thrust into a top-pairing, No. 1 defensive role on one of the best teams in the AHL. He was given heavy minutes, first-unit duties on both sides of the special teams, and an opportunity to be "the guy" on the blue line, and he largely succeeded.
It's not easy for an inexperienced pro to walk onto one of the AHL's top teams and, essentially, take over the blue line, but he did. And Brunicke's ability to learn, apply, and adapt so quickly to whatever the coaching and development staff throws his way is something that can't really be taught.
Given the fact that the Penguins have Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, and Kaedan Korczak - in addition to veteran Trevor van Riemsdyk, who plays both sides - lined up on the right, it's going to take a third consecutive standout training camp for Brunicke to make the roster. Even if he doesn't, some legitimate AHL runway for him isn't the worst thing, and it's almost a given that he'll be up at some point next season.
Again, patience will be the key with Brunicke. He's going to go through some peaks and valleys as a young player, but his ceiling as a top-pairing NHL defender will be well-worth the patience should he hit his potential. He's on an island as far as Penguins' defensive prospects, as no one else really comes close to his level of potential right now. If he can translate his offensive impacts to the NHL, keep adding size, and keep polishing his all-around game, he will be a very good player for the long-term future of the Penguins at a much-needed position.
Brunicke is, perhaps, the most intriguing and potentially impactful prospect in the Penguins' system, so that is why he comes in at No. 1 on our Top-20 Prospects list this year.
The full list:
- No. 20: D Chase Pietila
- No. 19: C Kale Dach
- No. 18: LW/C Ryan Miller
- No. 17: C Zam Plante
- No. 16: G Joel Blomqvist
- No. 15: C Markus Ruck
- No. 14: LW Tanner Howe
- No. 13: D Finn Harding
- No. 12: RW Avery Hayes
- No. 11: D Tomas Galvas
- No. 10: C Tristan Broz
- No. 9: RW Liam Ruck
- No. 8: D Owen Pickering
- No. 7: RW Ville Koivunen
- No. 6: LW/C Will Horcoff
- No. 5: RW Mikhail Ilyin
- No. 4: RW Rutger McGroarty
- No. 3: C/RW Bill Zonnon
- No. 2: G Sergei Murashov
- No. 1: D Harrison Brunicke
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