Penguins Prospect Pipeline Slightly Improves
The Pittsburgh Penguins farm system still isn't in a great place, but it's on the way up.
For the past few seasons, the Pittsburgh Penguins have had a prospect pool that coasted near the bottom of NHL rankings.
Heading into the 2023-24 season, the Penguins pipeline is still pretty dry, but it has seen some improvements.
Maintaining the first round pick and taking Brayden Yager 14th overall helped push Pittsburgh upwards in league rankings.
According to NHL Network, the Penguins have the 27th best prospect pipeline in the league.
It’s not a huge jump, but the Penguins now sit ahead of the Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and New York Islanders.
The Penguins don’t have many high level prospects, but the few that are there have some high expectations.
Yager and 2022’s first round pick Owen Pickering highlight the group; goalie prospect Joel Blomqvist has great promise to be an NHL regular one day.
Behind those three, Sam Poulin and Valtteri Puustinen should be ready for the full-time NHL jump this season; Jonathan Gruden is in a similar boat.
When president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas arrived in Pittsburgh, he said his goal was to build a team that can win now and still build for the future.
The future of the Penguins may not look pretty, but there are a few names that should inspite confidence for a successful team down the road.
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