After losing another prospect in Europe, the Pittsburgh Penguins continue to see their pipeline dry.

It’s already pretty well known the Pittsburgh Penguins don’t have much to offer in terms of a prospect pool.

The Penguins’ formula of trading away prospects and picks in the pursuit of postseason success has worked for a number of years, but now the organization is past due for a refreshing group of young talent.

It’ll be hard to come by as in the past week, multiple top prospects have skipped out on North America and went back to play in Europe.

Goalie Filip Lindberg and forward Filip Hallander decided they wanted to head back to their native countries and play in their respective professional leagues rather than continue to wait for a real chance at the NHL with the Penguins.

Neither of those player crack many top prospects lists, but that’s a hard blow to take considering how shallow the prospect pool is in Pittsburgh.

Heading into the 2022-23 season, Elite Prospects ranked the Penguins system 27^th in the NHL, only a marginal improvement from 29^th the previous year.

The Penguins were the oldest team in the NHL this past season and their age showed as they missed the postseason for the first time since 2006.

This seems like it would be a perfect time to turn attention to the budding prospects in the system, but they’re either leaving, on a decline, or still not ready for the jump.

Take a look at Nathan Legare, for example; when drafted in 2019, his shot was touted as one of the best in the organization.

His offensive prowess has seemed to disappear during his time with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Over the past two seasons, Legare has only scored 15 goals and 20 assists.

Sam Poulin is another interesting case to glance at; he made his NHL debut this year and even recorded his first point.

Shortly after being sent back to the AHL, Poulin stepped away from hockey to work on his mental health.

Poulin returned to the organization in March, but after multiple months off, he wasn’t going to be ready for any huge jumps in lineups.

The Penguins have some promising pieces like goalie Joel Blomqvist and defenseman Owen Pickering, but they’re still years away from an NHL breakthrough.

Guys like Poulin or Valtteri Puustinen are intriguing and deserving of another chance at the NHL, but how much of a difference can they make?

Alex Nylander, Ty Smith, and P.O. Joseph are all NHL ready and should be on the next opening night roster, but they shouldn’t be considered ‘prospects’ anymore.

The Penguins have quite the dilemma when it comes to their system; the core is still good, but they’re aging and need an infusion of youth, but the youth isn’t ready, and some may never be.

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