Top-20 Penguins' Prospects 2026, No. 3: Multidimensional Forward Making Rapid Progress In Development

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.

The No. 4 spot belonged to right wing Rutger McGroarty, who still has top-six upside despite some inconsistencies early on in his NHL career. For No. 3, we dive into, arguably, the most multidimensional and toolsy player in the Penguins' system - and his NHL ETA may be sooner than you think.

Zonnon, 19, was selected 22nd overall by the Penguins in 2025, and he was one of three first-round picks by the team. While center Ben Kindel unexpectedly cracked the NHL roster at 18 last season and Will Horcoff is showing off his high-end scoring ability in the NCAA, Zonnon is making some pretty big statements as well.

Unlike Kindel, Zonnon never even had the chance to make the NHL roster out of camp last season, as an injury forced him to miss all of camp and a good chunk of the QMJHL regular season. But, after his return for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada during the fall last year, he picked up right where he left off in his draft year, registering 14 goals and 46 points in 35 QMJHL games as well as two goals and 15 points in 17 playoff games. 

But the real statement he made was when he joined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins during the team's Calder Cup Playoff run. His AHL debut happened in WBS's second-round series against the Springfield Thunderbirds on May 12, and he scored a goal in his debut. 

Then, he scored again in the next game. And again in the next. Zonnon, freshly out of junior hockey, registered four goals and seven points in 11 playoff games, which was the second-highest point-per-game pace (0.64) on the team only to center Tristan Broz (.73). 

Of course, the immediate production was definitely something that stood out about Zonnon's game, especially since he was primarily playing fourth-line minutes. But that is only the very tip of the iceberg when it comes to Zonnon.

Much like Rutger McGroarty, Zonnon possesses a natural ability to put the puck in the back of the net, even if he makes most of his living down low and around the net front. He also uses his vision and playmaking skills to create and distribute, he doesn't shy away from physicality, he has some speed, and he's a relentless forechecker. He can make good reads on the defensive side of the puck and force opponents to the walls, and he, like McGroarty, is effective on both special teams units. 

The skating and his positional versatility - he can play all three forward positions - are the two things that separate him from McGroarty, even if both are two of the most promising 200-foot prospects in the Penguins' system. Zonnon plays a blue-collar style but has all the tools and the skill to be an effective producer, too, making his floor higher than arguably any other prospect in the organization. 

As a center or a winger, that floor is likely an NHL middle-sixer. And, if he does indeed hit that floor, there's a good chance he will be one of the Penguins' best, if not the best, two-way players a few years down the road. And a lot of that was on display during WBS's playoff run. 

"He did great. Coming back from the injury he had at the beginning of last season to jumping into the playoff run he had in Blainville to jumping into Wilkes-Barre right into the playoffs... that's not easy to do for a young kid, and he started producing right away," director of player development Tom Kostopoulos said during development camp. "Then, even when he stopped scoring, you could see him make plays out there. You could see him creating plays, making plays, moving pucks, and you can see his strength coming along.

"He could be a centerman, he could play wing, he gives you both sides of the ice up and down the ice, he can kill penalties, he can play on the power play... he's got a lot to look forward to."

This time around, Zonnon is healthy ahead of training camp, and he has a chance to prove himself to the NHL club. If there is a dark horse prospect candidate to make the NHL roster out of camp, it's him. In his small AHL sample, his transition was seamless, and he looked just about as close to NHL-ready in that sample as he could be. 

If Zonnon doesn't make the team out of camp - again, it's worth repeating that the Penguins have a lot of forwards signed to NHL contracts competing for few spots - don't be surprised to see him make his NHL debut at some point next season. He is closer than you might think, and his toolbox is already nearly complete as-is. 

Zonnon is a unique player in the Penguins' forward prospect pool, and he's pretty much got it all going for him. For that, he has landed in the top-three on our list this year.

- Honorable mentions

- No. 20: D Chase Pietila

- No. 19: C Kale Dach

- No. 18: LW/C Ryan Miller

- No. 17: C Zam Plante

- No. 16: G Joel Blomqvist

- No. 15: C Markus Ruck

- No. 14: LW Tanner Howe

- No. 13: D Finn Harding

- No. 12: RW Avery Hayes

- No. 11: D Tomas Galvas

- No. 10: C Tristan Broz

- No. 9: RW Liam Ruck

- No. 8: D Owen Pickering

- No. 7: RW Ville Koivunen

- No. 6: LW/C Will Horcoff

- No. 5: RW Mikhail Ilyin

- No. 4: RW Rutger McGroarty

- No. 3: C/RW Bill Zonnon

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