The 2025-26 hockey season is winding down, with many leagues deep into their playoffs, if they haven’t concluded business for the year. Let’s check in on the summer 2025 Top 25 Under 25 list for the Penguins and see what the young players have been up to since the last update we made back in February.
The list:
No. 25: Quinn Beauchense
No. 24: Cruz Lucius
No. 23: Travis Hayes
No. 22: Brady Peddle
No. 21: Finn Harding
No. 20: Sam Poulin
No. 19: Joona Vaisanen
No. 18: Avery Hayes
No. 17: Tanner Howe
No. 16: Tristan Broz
No. 15: Emil Pieniniemi
No. 14: Mikhail Ilyin
No. 13: Peyton Kettles
No. 12: Melvin Fernström
No. 11: Arturs Silovs
No. 10: Sergei Murashov
No. 9: Philip Tomasino
No. 8: Owen Pickering
No. 7: Joel Blomqvist
No. 6: Bill Zonnon
No. 5: Will Horcoff
No. 4: Ben Kindel
No. 3: Harrison Brunicke
No. 2: Ville Koivunen
No. 1: Rutger McGroarty
We broke this down into informal tiers to group the players. That’s been working out pretty well and helps to give an idea of which players belong where at this point of their respective journeys, so we’ll stick with it.
Tier 7: #22 – honorable mentions; Long-term prospects with some upside
Beauchesne, T. Hayes and Peddle were all on ATOs (amateur tryouts) with Wilkes-Barre this spring until all three got released from those ATOs yesterday. The AHL roster is too big, none of these teenagers played an AHL game but they did get to spend a few weeks and learn how a pro hockey team operates, practices and pick up some experience that could help in the future. Of course, there won’t be a future for Cruz Lucius in the Pittsburgh organization after he told the Pens to take this job and shove it (though probably in more professional terms) but Lucius has decided to go the free agent route and pick which NHL team to sign with instead of joining up with the Pens.
Tier 6: #15 – 21; Slightly more developed prospects still a ways away
Of this grouping, A. Hayes and Broz are well-established as key personnel for Wilkes and helping them to win games by being two quality AHL players. That’s been that way for some time now, they don’t belong as “a ways away” by this point. Pieniniemi fits the category, currently working in the ECHL playoffs with Wheeling. Harding had a solid rookie season but has been rotated in and out of the AHL playoff lineup on a very deep WBS team. Tanner Howe is one of the more intriguing prospects, finishing his season to come back from a major knee injury and occasionally appear in some highlights via his hard-working style. I wouldn’t expect Howe to make the NHL Penguins out of traning camp but if he keeps going on this trajectory it’s not out of the question that he could be a candidate as a mid-season injury replacement to get a game or two at this rate.
Tier 5: #12 – 14; Intrigue, but patience required
Fernstrom has been a scratch in all the AHL playoff games so far, Kettles has long been injured and out. Ilyin is certainly the player in this tier worth talking about now that he has more points in the AHL playoffs (3 in 4 games) than he did in the AHL regular season (2 in 5 games). It looks like his learning curve to figure out how to perform in North America is coming along quite nicely, making him an exciting watch as he continues to acclimate and get the opportunity to perform.
Tier 4: #9 -11; The wildcards
This tier has turned into the young goalie area now that Tomasino is long since departed the organization. Silovs proved again he’s got big game performance in his DNA after a great turn in the NHL playoffs, despite dealing with a knee injury. Say what you will about his performance or numbers over the long haul but if nothing else he is a player with a growing history of rising play to meet the moment in the key times. Murashov continues to shine brightly, he’s got a 3-1 record, 1.99 GAA and .937 save% in the AHL playoffs so far. Sky continue to looks like the limit for him.
Tier 3: #7-8; Older, near ready players
Meh, disappointing tier here. Blomqvist hasn’t been needed to play, he’s a good AHL goalie (maybe even very good) but Murashov is clearly a notch ahead and a team only needs one goalie at this time of year. That might be developing into the story of Blomqvist’s career by getting surpassed by Murashov. Pickering scored a game-winning goal in the series against Hershey and is playing a featured role in the lineup for the AHL playoffs, so that’s something at least, but the Pens re-signing Ilya Solovyov shows that they’re not holding their breath for Pickering to step all the way up to the NHL level and anything they get out of him is about a bonus at this point.
Tier 2: #4-6; Recent first round picks
Kindel wrapped up a tremendously successful NHL season, looking at his age-18 stats compared to others is very promising. His year had a tough ending but is little to worry about, the experience gained will prove invaluable as he continues to grow. Horcoff has confirmed an expected return to the University of Michigan for 2026-27, so he’ll be off the pro radar for a while longer aside from summer prospect camp.
The story of the moment in this segment is Zonnon. Zonnon’s QMJHL career came to a close with a playoff elimination (he had 15 points in 17 games) and he quickly joined Wilkes on an ATO once freed up. The Pens have confirmed Zonnon will make his AHL debut coming up soon in the playoffs, a big step and key moment of trust to throw a young player in at the most important moments. Seeing what he does with the opportunity will be a treat.
Tier 1: #1 -3; Cream of the crop
Though all three players in this category (Brunicke, Koivunen, McGroarty) surely didn’t have the season that they (or the team) would have liked to have had, but they’ve shrugged it off and are making meaningful impacts on the WBS playing run as some of the very best and top players on that team right now. Brunicke is playing as a top pair defenseman and having a massive contribution all over the ice with his skills – including a shorthanded goal. McGroarty’s out there tipping in overtime goals and Koivunen, ever-productive at the AHL level, has four points in four playoff games. All three of these players are pulling the rope in the right direction and looking to build momentum moving forward. That’s good for Wilkes in the short-term, it might be good for Pittsburgh down the road.
