NHL Prospect Watch: Pittsburgh Penguins
Ahead of the 2024-25 hockey season, we’re diving into the WHL prospect pool for each of the NHL’s 32 teams. Throughout the series, we’ll highlight WHLers who have been signed to an NHL contract, were recently drafted, or are included in the NHL’s definition of a rookie.
Today, we’ll check in on a group of youngsters who hope to call Steel City home soon.
Harrison Brunicke
Defenceman Harrison Brunicke aims to become the first South African-born skater to hit NHL ice- and he’s one step closer to doing so after being drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft and signing his entry-level contract. Standing 6-foot-3 and 196 pounds with a coveted right shot, the 18-year-old is coming off a promising sophomore season with the Kamloops Blazers. Brunicke tallied 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points in 49 games, highlighted by a one-goal, two-assist performance against the Vancouver Giants in November. He ranked second in goals and points by Blazers defencemen despite suffering a shoulder injury that ended his WHL season in February. The Johannesburg, South Africa product returned to the ice for the 2024 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in a shutdown defender role for Canada, registering a goal, three assists and a +11 rating in seven games en route to a gold medal.
🎥HARRISON BRUNICKE – HIGHLIGHT REEL🎥
The path to becoming the first South African-born skater in NHL history begins on June 28 for Harrison.@blazerhockey | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/54aP5H0KEm
— The WHL (@TheWHL) June 28, 2024
Taylor Gauthier
What has former Prince George Cougars and Portland Winterhawks star Taylor Gauthier been up to? The 6-foot-2, 207-pound netminder was named the ECHL’s Goaltender of the Year and First-Team All-Star in his second professional season with the Wheeling Nailers. Gauthier went 24-16-2 in 42 games, leading all goaltenders with a .923 save percentage, tying for first with four shutouts, and finishing second with a 2.23 goals-against average. The 23-year-old allowed two goals or less in 23 of his 42 outings and was named ECHL Goaltender of the Week four times, tying for the most in a single season in league history. He also made four appearances with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, going 1-2-1 with a 3.87 goals-against average and a .889 save percentage. In the WHL, Gauthier suited up for more than 200 regular season and playoff games, snagging 11 shutouts and a .909 career regular season save percentage. He signed a free-agent, entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2022.
❌ SAVE OF THE YEAR?! ❌
Taylor Gauthier holds it down on the breakaway to keep things 1-1!
We call him GOAT for a reason! 😤#ForgeTheFuture pic.twitter.com/vjFJUCgfPz
— Wheeling Nailers (@WheelingNailers) March 17, 2024
Tanner Howe
Selected by the Penguins at 46th overall- with just one pick standing between him and fellow Pens prospect Brunicke- Tanner Howe looks to bring his grit and scoring edge to a new level in 2024-25. The Regina Pats Captain led his team with 28 goals (including two game-winners and a shorthanded snipe) and 49 assists for 77 points in 68 games, highlighted by a one-goal, three-assist effort against the Calgary Hitmen in February. Pittsburgh was impressed enough to sign the youngster to a three-year, entry-level deal in early July. Standing 5-foot-10, 183 pounds, Howe has suited up for parts of the last four seasons with Regina, piling up 92 goals, 141 assists and 233 points in 207 regular-season WHL games. Howe says he models his game after fellow CHLers (and Stanley Cup Champions) Brad Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk- and has made many an enemy of his opponents with his hard-nosed play.
🎥TANNER HOWE – HIGHLIGHT REEL🎥
“Bring on Las Vegas!”
– Tanner Howe, most definitely.@WHLPats | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/rLXJlGJEsZ
— The WHL (@TheWHL) June 21, 2024
Filip Kral
Former Toronto Maple Leafs fifth-round pick Filip Kral re-joins his former General Manager Kyle Dubas after signing a one-year deal with the Penguins in May. The defenceman recorded five goals, 32 assists and 37 points in 46 games with the Lahti Pelicans of Liiga, Finland’s top professional hockey league. Kral, 24, also won Liiga’s Matti Keinonen Trophy with a league-best rating of +28. The 6-foot-2, 198-pound defenseman previously played parts of three seasons in the Maple Leafs system from 2020-23, mainly with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, where he put up seven goals, 22 assists and 29 points. He made his NHL debut on October 29, 2022. Kral spent three seasons with the Spokane Chiefs, tallying 31 goals and 89 assists for 120 points and a +44 rating in 154 games.
The Penguins have signed defenseman Filip Kral to a one-year contract.
The contract runs through the 2024.25 season and carries an average annual value of $775,000 at the NHL level.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) May 21, 2024
Owen Pickering
Swift Current Broncos Captain Owen Pickering set new career highs in points, assists and points-per-game average in 2023-24. The 6-foot-5, 185-pound blueliner racked up seven goals and 39 assists for 46 points in 59 games, including a one-goal, three-assist performance against the high-flying Medicine Hat Tigers in March. His strong showing earned him a spot on the WHL Central Division First All-Star Team. Pickering added another seven points in the postseason, highlighted by back-to-back two-assist nights in Games 3 and 4 (where he assisted the double-overtime series-winning-goal) to complete a sweep of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Originally drafted 21st overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Pickering signed his entry-level deal that summer and has now set his sights on going full-time with Wilkes-Barre in 2024-25. The St. Adolphe, Man. product has previously suited up for eight AHL contests.
The Captain chimes in with his first of the playoffs!!
Owen Pickering has the @SCBroncos within one 🚨#letsgopens | #FeedtheFuture pic.twitter.com/sbRJby5bXH
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 17, 2024
Brayden Yager
2023 14th-overall pick Brayden Yager’s trophy case is filling up- fast. This season, the Moose Jaw Warriors star helped his team clinch its first-ever WHL Championship, scored the franchise’s first goal at the Memorial Cup, took home WHL Most Sportsmanlike honours for a second-straight year, made the WHL East Division Second All-Star Team and put pen to paper on a three-year, entry-level deal with Pittsburgh. In the regular season, the 6-foot, 170-pound forward set new career highs with 35 goals (including six game-winners) and 60 assists for 95 points and a +19 rating. Yager recorded three or more points on 14 occasions, highlighted by a hat trick against Swift Current in November and a monster six-assist night against Regina in March. The 19-year-old finished third among all WHLers in playoff scoring with 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points and a +10 rating in 20 games, bolstered by an overtime winner in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Championship against the Saskatoon Blades and two multi-point efforts in Games 2 and 3 of the WHL Championship Series. While Moose Jaw would fall in the Memorial Cup semifinal, Yager, a former WHL Rookie of the Year, would be named to the tournament’s All-Star Team after tallying six points (3G-3A) in four games.
The @MJWARRIORS first-ever goal at the #MemorialCup goes to Brayden Yager!@penguins pic.twitter.com/sZe0Cozimn
— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 25, 2024
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