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Top-20 Penguins' Prospects 2026, No. 7: Winger Must Prove Himself Worthy Of Organizational Commitment

Kelsey Surmacz

Updated Aug 20, 2026, 17:59

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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.

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Defenseman Owen Pickering occupied our No. 8 spot, as his growth in the AHL last season earned him a chance to remain in the top-10. This coming season is a massive one for the player in our No. 7 slot, as Dubas and the Penguins just committed to him big time - and it's certainly not too late for him to prove he's worthy of the investment.

No. 7: RW Ville Koivunen

For what has been an eventful yet relatively under-the-radar summer for the Penguins, perhaps the most surprising bit of news came on Aug. 6, when it was announced that the Penguins had extended the young, unproven Koivunen to an eight-year, $32 million contract extension.

Eight years is a long time, so it's safe to say that the Penguins are betting on Koivunen to become at least a serviceable NHL player.

"There were many factors that led to us going down this path," Dubas said via email after the signing. "But the primary factor was watching the way the market evolved over the season and especially the summer and trying to best plan for the future of the Penguins. We view the contract as a bet – on Ville, his potential, and our belief that he is going to do the work in to reach that potential."

Koivunen, 23, has not yet made a big impact at the highest level, as he has amassed two goals and 14 points in 47 NHL games. His first sample at the end of the 2024-25 season was promising with seven points in eight games in a role alongside Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.

Next up on our 2026 THN Top-20 Penguins' Prospects list is a 2022 first-round pick who made considerable progress last season and still figures to be part of the team's future.

thehockeynews.comTop-20 Penguins' Prospects 2026, No. 8: Big Defenseman Beginning To Find FormNext up on our 2026 THN Top-20 Penguins' Prospects list is a 2022 first-round pick who made considerable progress last season and still figures to be part of the team's future.

However, 2025-26 didn't exactly go as planned for Koivunen.

After making the team out of training camp, Koivunen didn't show much in his first brief stint, which lasted only two games. He did get an extended look from late-October to early January then another in the season's March stretch run,

But there were subtle things that started to lean in his favor. Even if he wasn't finishing with regularity, he was beginning to come around in terms of pace of play and his playmaking acumen. His decision-making was a bit better down the stretch, his reads were cleaner and quicker, and he wasn't hesitating nearly as much.

Koivunen had another dominant AHL season, recording 13 goals and 41 points in 34 games. He has been able to produce at every level, but he needs to figure out how to adjust to NHL speed and be able to produce consistently in the NHL. He also needs to keep adding size, which is something that should help him avoid getting knocked off of pucks so easily.

And that's something that Dubas and the Penguins believe Koivunen can do, especially given the work he's putting in this summer.

"Over the course of the season, Ville showed excellent commitment in Wilkes-Barre to doing extra work and he has doubled down on that this summer," Dubas said. "He did not return to his home in Oulu, instead working with to set up a new training program in Helsinki, and then informed us that he would be returning to Pittsburgh in mid-August to join the growing number of players we have training here in the summer. His actions gave us assurance and our staff will continue to push him on and off the ice."

Again, adding size will serve Koivunen well. But his puck skills, hockey smarts, deceptive release, forechecking, and defensive conscience should still translate to the NHL level, but it may take a little bit of time. Koivunen is one of the few players in the Penguins' system with a top-six ceiling, and it is certainly not too late for him to really take off.

But the upcoming season is going to be critical for Koivunen. His eight-year contract essentially makes him waivers-proof, but it's also a signal that the Penguins are challenging him and betting on him to make an impact on the NHL roster. Making the roster out of camp will be no easy task since the Penguins have a plethora of forwards, but reagrdless there has to be some significant progress happening this year in order for Koivunen to be considered a central cog in Pittsburgh's future.

So what will Koivunen have to show in order to be an NHL mainstay this season?

"Well, he will still have to earn everything," Dubas said. "As we have shown over the last few years, a long-term contract does not mean you are given anything in Pittsburgh. He will need to earn his roster spot and opportunity in training camp. He will need to finish the summer strong and show gains in power and speed on the ice in training camp and exhibition games."