Penguins Breakout Candidates for 2023-24
The breakout success of these players will play a huge role in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 2023-24 season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are flying into the 2023-24 season with a number of new faces, but not many of them are new to the NHL.
Despite there not being much fresh blood in the Penguins’ lineup, there is still plenty of room for a few players to make a name for themselves.
The upcoming 2023-24 season will be an important one for the team, and these few assets could play a big role as breakout producers or role players.
Drew O’Connor
Still awaiting a resolution for a new contract, Drew O’Connor finally logged some regular time with the NHL club during the 2022-23 season.
O’Connor appeared in 46 games during last season and recorded 11 total points; those numbers aren’t staggering, but he isn’t the type of player that brings a threat of scoring.
That could change heading into this new year, however, if O’Connor is a regular in the lineup from opening night, he’ll have far more opportunities to find the back of the net.
He’ll likely still be playing a bottom-six forward role, but O’Connor will be more familiar with his surroundings and abilities and should be able to produce on both ends of the ice.
O’Connor has a bright future in the NHL as a depth forward, and the 2023-24 season will be a perfect time to show what he’s made of.
Alex Nylander
The skill is there, but can Alex Nylander gain and maintain a spot in the NHL? The competition will be there, but if he can take full grasp of his opportunities, this will be a make or break season for him.
In nine games at the NHL level last year, Nylander picked up a goal and an assist, but got high praise from his teammates and coaches.
It was Nylander’s first sniff of NHL ice since the 2020 bubble playoffs, but it didn’t seem like he missed a single beat.
With a new one-year contract signed, Nylander has another season to find consistency in the NHL and be one of the more underrated producers with the Penguins.
The added competition with other depth signings should bring the best out in Nylander and give him a real chance to play above the bottom-six group.
Noel Acciari, Lars Eller, Matt Nieto
Clumping the three newest and most prominent depth forwards into one only makes sense for this list.
The Penguins are excited about what each of Noel Acciari, Lars Eller, and Matt Nieto can bring defensively, but they don’t necessarily qualify for a ‘breakout’ label.
What they will do, however, is add a ton of help to the bottom-six from a defensive standpoint.
All over the age of 30, but ready for the new challenge on a Penguins team looking to get back into the race for the Stanley Cup.
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