It's a new season, and Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins]' prospects are off to a pretty good start this season. GM/POHO Kyle Dubas has managed to infuse the Penguins' organization with a lot of promising talent in the last two-plus years by acquiring prospects and accruing draft capital, and the Penguins' enhanced development staff has also helped young players already in the organization begin to find potential paths to the NHL. In particular, the Penguins' prospect pool at forward has drastically improved. And quite a few of them are off to scorching starts this season. Here is our November Penguins' prospects update for forwards: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RUTGER MCGROARTY Given how McGroarty has played for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) since his return to action, it shouldn't be long before he sees action in Pittsburgh. After missing all of training camp plus the first month and a half of the regular season, McGroarty has appeared in five games for WBS and registered four goals and seven points. He scored in four consecutive games upon his return. The NHL club is ailing, and McGroarty is putting the puck in the back of the net like clockwork [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/penguins-top-prospect-rutger-mcgroarty-extends-ahl-goal-scoring-streak]. The Penguins have a return-to-play plan for him, and it makes sense that they don't want to rush him back to the NHL for the sake of doing it. But there comes a point when production, results, and need may outweigh whatever preconceived plan was in place. If McGroarty keeps this up for much longer - and the Penguins don't get healthy very soon - he should be in Pittsburgh. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AVERY HAYES Hayes, 22, missed a few games due to injury this month, but he's picked up right where he left off prior to his injury. In 15 games this season, Hayes has five goals and nine points - and three of his five goals have been game-winning goals. He seems to have that clutch gene, and it's a great quality to have alongside the defensive awareness, versatility, and special teams ability he brings. Hayes has already begun the first year of his two-year entry-level contract with the Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/penguins-forward-prospect-earns-entry-level-contract]. He impressed in training camp and can play up and down a lineup. Along with McGroarty, he's another guy that should see NHL ice sooner rather than later this season. Penguins Send Two Forwards Back To Wilkes-Barre/Scranton [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/78c8f45c-ba74-472e-9942-3e227901fb47.jpeg] Penguins Send Two Forwards Back To Wilkes-Barre/Scranton The Pittsburgh Penguins sent two forwards back to their AHL farm team on Sunday. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/penguins-send-two-forwards-back-to-wilkes-barre-scranton] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRISTAN BROZ Broz, 22, made his NHL debut Nov. 26 against the Buffalo Sabres [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/he-s-a-great-player-tristan-broz-confirmed-to-make-nhl-debut-wednesday-against-buffalo-sabres], and it was a debut well-earned because of his play at the AHL level this season. Prior to his call-up, Broz had eight goals and 13 points in 18 games, and his strong play on both sides of the puck stood out. Broz's positional versatility - he can play center and wing effectively - as well as his high impact on both the power play and penalty kill are qualities that made the decision on a call-up easy for the Penguins. Well, in addition to his production and ability to score goals, of course. Broz was a healthy scratch for the back-to-back against the Columbus Blue Jackets [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets] and the Toronto Maple Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/] on Friday and Saturday. With a rough 7-2 loss against the Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/game-day/takeaways-penguins-7-2-loss-to-leafs-calls-for-some-changes], the Penguins next play the Philadelphia Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers] on Monday, and they sent Broz back to WBS with some assumed roster movement otherwise on the way. But if he continues what he's been doing at the AHL level this season, it won't be long before Broz is back in Pittsburgh again. 'He's A Great Player': Tristan Broz Confirmed To Make NHL Debut Wednesday Against Buffalo Sabres [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/1fb75346-0bd0-4478-bf87-7899a05ae7a2.jpeg] 'He's A Great Player': Tristan Broz Confirmed To Make NHL Debut Wednesday Against Buffalo Sabres Pittsburgh Penguins' forward prospect Tristan Broz will make his NHL debut against the Buffalo Sabres On Wednesday [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/he-s-a-great-player-tristan-broz-confirmed-to-make-nhl-debut-wednesday-against-buffalo-sabres] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ATLEY CALVERT Calvert, 22, has cooled off considerably since his scorching start to the season. He has no points in the last six games and , unfortunately, does not make a huge degree of impact when he is not showing up on the scoresheet. Still, the undrafted forward is still one to watch this season, as he has been a pleasant surprises during his organizational tenure so far. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/don-t-overlook-this-penguins-forward-prospect] He has six goals and 10 points in 20 AHL games, and he does tend to score in streaks and bunches. He's simply going through a cold stretch at the moment. In 2024-25, he had 13 goals and 36 points in 38 ECHL games and nine goals and 14 points in 26 AHL games. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WILL HORCOFF In all honesty, we are running out of words to describe what Horcoff is doing [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/penguins-prospect-will-horcoff-tied-for-first-in-ncaa-in-points-after-another-stellar-game] for the University of Michigan Wolverines this season. After two wins against Harvard this weekend - in which he registered four goals, including the overtime game-winner on Nov. 29 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/penguins-prospect-will-horcoff-tied-for-first-in-ncaa-in-points-after-another-stellar-game] - Horcoff is up to 18 goals and 26 points in 18 games on the NCAA season, which means he now leads the NCAA in both goals and points. The main knock on Horcoff coming out of the 2025 NHL Draft - when he was selected 24th overall - was that he needed to find the back of the net more often. Well, he's done that and more, and it's quite impressive for an 18-year-old who was the youngest player in the NCAA last season. The Penguins look like they could be getting a pretty special player here in Horcoff, and that 2025 first round is looking better and better, even with Bill Zonnon injured again and barely having played this season. Penguins' Top Prospect Tied For First In NCAA In Points After Another Stellar Game [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/38bfe244-8aa3-4869-b837-5a583b381f34.jpeg] Penguins' Top Prospect Tied For First In NCAA In Points After Another Stellar Game Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Will Horcoff had another outstanding weekend for Michigan. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/penguins-prospect-will-horcoff-tied-for-first-in-ncaa-in-points-after-another-stellar-game] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CRUZ LUCIUS Lucius - drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes] in the fourth round (124th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft and dealt to the Penguins in the Jake Guentzel trade - has put together a nice season for the Arizona State University Sun Devils so far. He has 10 goals and 20 points in 16 games on the season, including a goal and seven points in the last five games. Lucius still has to refine some of the defensive details in his game, which has been a point of emphasis for him in his development. But his scoring touch gets better and better with each passing season, and he is on pace to surpass career-highs in both goals and points this season. Takeaways: Penguins' 7-2 Loss To Leafs Calls For Some Changes [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/f3f1494c-4969-4bdb-9386-dd69b53f1c58.jpeg] Takeaways: Penguins' 7-2 Loss To Leafs Calls For Some Changes Heading into Saturday's matchup against the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/">Toronto Maple Leafs</a>, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> had won two consecutive games and appeared to be crawling out of the November slump they found themselves in. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/game-day/takeaways-penguins-7-2-loss-to-leafs-calls-for-some-changes] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ZAM PLANTE While Horcoff leads the NCAA in goals and points, Plante leads the league in assists with 17 [https://x.com/PenguinsPR/status/1995194778401804524?s=20]. The Penguins' 2022 fifth-round (150th overall) pick has seven goals and 24 points for the University of Minnesota - Duluth this season, and a lot of those assists have come on goals by his younger brother, Max, who has found the back of the net 13 times and is tied with Horcoff for the league lead in points. The 21-year-old center from Mannheim, Germany continues to climb his way up the prospects rankings for the Penguins, and after his junior breakout season with the Fargo Force of the USHL in 2023-24 - he had 26 goals and 71 points in 57 games - he has continued to follow through on his development as a playmaker at the NCAA level. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RYAN MILLER Miller, 18, is on an absolute tear right now in the WHL. And it's beginning to look like he was one of several steals in the later rounds of the 2025 draft class. One of three fifth-round draft picks (130th overall) by the Penguins this year, Miller has a WHL-best 19-game active point streak, which was extended Saturday with a two-goal, three-point effort for the Portland Winterhawks in a 7-2 win over the Swift Current Broncos. Overall, he has nine goals and 33 points in 26 games on the season. The tenacious, net-driving forward has impressed early on this season, and he will be one to watch as the season progresses. If he can develop his offensive game even further, there is a chance that the Penguins could be getting yet another pretty decent two-way centerman in their system. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JORDAN CHARRON Charron - one of the other fifth-round picks (154th overall) by the Penguins this year - has cooled off considerably since his scorching start to the season that featured seven goals and 11 points in six OHL games for the Soo Greyhounds. Since then, Charron has just 11 goals and 15 points in 21 games, which - although still formidable on the goal-scoring front - isn't quite the clip he was producing at before. Still, Charron's scoring ability, size, and speed have allowed him to become more productive this season, as he's following up on a 2024-25 campaign that included just 10 goals and 21 points in 48 games. If the 6-foot-2, 198-pound Charron keeps playing to his strengths and learns to use his speed and size even more to his advantage, he could unlock an even higher level of production. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MIKHAIL ILYIN The 20-year-old Ilyin - who is playing out the first year of his three-year entry-level contract in the KHL for the Severstal Cherepovets - just seems to be getting better and better. Playing on Severstal's top line this season, the youngster has increased his production quite a bit in comparison to last season, as his eight goals and 24 points in 32 games are far outpacing his previous career-high of 12 goals in 65 games during the 2023-24 season and 30 points in 64 games in 2024-25. He is also a plus-16 this season. A smart, skilled playmaker, Ilyin continues to show off his craftiness and vision with Severstal, and at 27th overall in KHL scoring, there is only one player younger than him - 19-year-old Yegor Surin, who was drafted 22nd overall by the Nashville Predators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators] in 2024 - within the top-75 in league scoring. That should say something about Ilyin doing what he's doing at his age in the KHL. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MELVIN FERNSTROM It's probably safe to say that Fernstrom - a 19-year-old right wing acquired in the Marcus Pettersson trade last spring [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/breaking-penguins-defenseman-marcus-pettersson-traded-to-vancouver-canucks] - has not had the start that him or the Penguins were hoping for. The 6-foot, 187-pound forward has just two goals and two points in 24 games for Orebro HK of the SHL this season. The third-round pick (93rd overall) of the Vancouver Canucks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks/] in 2024 earned SHL Rookie of the Year honors last season with eight goals and 17 points in 48 games - and he is pacing just four goals and four points in as many games this season. The Penguins want Fernstrom to work on his skating, and the offense hasn't been shining this season, either. The youngster still has some growth to accomplish if he hopes to see NHL ice at some point, but the good news is that he's only 19 - and it's hard for teenagers to score in the SHL. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notable injuries: Bill Zonnon, Tanner Howe -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwquDfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
