Several Penguins' Prospects Lighting Up AHL Scoreboard In Earlygoing

It's not a secret that the Pittsburgh Penguins have struggled to find consistency in the early going of the 2026-27 season. 

But, although it has not been perfect, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) have gotten off to a pretty decent start — and that includes some of their top players. 

To go along with a decent 3-2-1 start this season, forwards Avery Hayes and Rutger McGroarty have been lighting up the AHL during the season's first six games. Hayes and McGroarty each have nine points, which - as of Sunday - make them tied for third in AHL scoring. Atley Calvert (eight points) and Mikhail Ilyin (seven points) are not far behind, and neither are Tristan Broz (six points), Bill Zonnon (five points) and defenseman Jake Livanavage (five points in five games).

In addition, goaltender Taylor Gauthier - who is playing in his first full AHL season and has split time with Joel Blomqvist up to this point - is 2-1 with a .915 save percentage. 

Hayes and McGroarty, especially, have been making very strong cases to see NHL action. The 24-year-old Hayes has goals in four of six games so far this season for WBS, and he has been a menace on both special teams units. In addition to two power play goals, he also has a shorthanded goal, and his versatility has, once again, proven valuable to the WBS Penguins. 

McGroarty, 22, definitely qualifies as a player with something big to prove. He began the season with the NHL club and did not appear in a game before being sent back to WBS due to players coming back from injury. McGroarty has been a man-advantage weapon for WBS, scoring three power play goals, and he has averaged a team-high five shots per game so far this season. He has a four-point and a three-point game this season. 

The two of them have continued to display a high degree of chemistry on a line together, as they have flanked Broz on the first line. This is a combination that dates back to last season, and the success has followed through to this season. In Saturday's 6-3 win over the Cleveland Monsters, those three players combined for six points. 

Calvert, 23, is a player to watch as well. He signed a two-year NHL entry-level contract this summer, and he is building on his productiveness from the last two seasons. The undrafted center has 28 goals and 60 points in 102 career AHL games, and his two-way prowess is beginning to make him a standout as far as the pecking order with NHL call-ups.  

Zonnon - selected 22nd overall in the 2025 NHL Draft - is playing in his first full AHL season, and he's looking very much like a formidable two-way center so far. He's largely been centering a third line with Tanner Howe and Calvert, and his multidimensional, pro-ready toolset has been an asset to WBS so far. 

Finally, don't sleep on Livanavage, the 6-foot, 186-pound left defenseman who the Penguins signed to a two-year entry level contract out of the University of North Dakota late in the 2025-26 season. Much focus, understandably so, is centered on Owen Pickering and Harrison Brunicke, but Livanavage has been their most prolific offensive blueliner to start the season and has helped anchor their power play.

Given the recent report that the Penguins have interest in moving some veterans in order to create more space for their younger players, it's a positive development to see several players having hot starts in WBS. If they continue to put up numbers, they will certainly force some difficult decisions for the organization. 

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