After finishing fourth in the Atlantic Division and winning a playoff round in 2021-22, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins finished 29th out of 32 teams in the AHL in 2022-23 and second to last in the league with 26 wins and191 goals for–one of only three teams not to score at least 200 goals during the regular season.
While not entirely surprising given years of sacrificing prospects and draft picks for reinforcements at the NHL level, the Penguins still managed to find value in draft picks outside of the first two rounds–like Bryan Rust (2010, 80th overall) and Jake Guentzel (2013, 77th overall)–and in undrafted free agents to fill out the lineup–like forward Drew O’Connor and backup goaltender Casey DeSmith. However, the current crop of prospects appears to lack headliners and depth.
The Good
Puustinen Leads Team in Scoring Again
Valtteri Puustinen led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in scoring for a second consecutive season and improved on 20 goals and 42 points in 73 games as a rookie last season to 24 goals and 59 points in 72 games in 2022-23. Puustinen led HPK in the Finnish Liiga with 21 goals in 2020-21 and 17 goals the year before. The 2019 seventh round pick needs a new contract and probably deserves a look at the NHL level.
Nylander Ups Production, Hopes for Second Chance at NHL Level
Alex Nylander recorded 42 points in 67 AHL games between the Rockford IceHogs and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season and upped the production to nearly a point per game average in 2022-23 with 50 points in 55 games. After a decent showing at the NHL level, Nylander signed a one way deal with Pittsburgh for the 2023-24 season. The 2016 eighth overall pick last played regularly in the NHL in 2019-20, recording 26 points in 65 games for the Chicago Blackhawks before suffering a significant knee injury, missing the entire 2020-21 season, and spending the past two seasons almost entirely in the AHL.
Gruden Improves
Jonathan Gruden recorded 27 points last season and 31 in 2022-23, but in 21 fewer games, going from a 0.44 point per game average to 0.57. The 2018 fourth round pick acquired from the Ottawa Senators as part of the Matt Murray trade in 2020 also needs a new contract but looks to be developing into a potential bottom six candidate and debuted in the NHL last season, centering the fourth line for three games.
The Bad
Poulin Gets Healthy, Misses Majority of Season
After posting decent numbers–16 goals and 37 points in 72 games as a rookie in the AHL last season–Samuel Poulin started 2022-23 in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, joined the Pittsburgh Penguins for three games, recording a single assist in the stint, and rejoined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before leaving the team to return to Quebec and deal with mental health issues. The 2019 first round pick returned to the team for two games in April. Obviously, the health and wellness of the player supersedes everything else, but, for the sake of the team, hopefully Poulin continues progressing toward a regular in the NHL lineup after missing the majority of the season.
Legare Fails to Make Jump in Production in Second Season
A bonafide goal scorer at the junior level–including 110 in 177 regular season and postseason games from 2018-21, Nathan Legare struggled as a rookie in the AHL last season with seven goals and 16 points in 57 games–easy to write off as growing pains from jumping to the professional ranks. However, the 2019 third round pick failed to make a jump in a second season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, recording 19 points in 68 games. Legare started to incorporate some grinder and pest elements to better project as a bottom six, energy player, but hopes to rekindle some of the scoring ability displayed at the junior level.
Smith Buried in the AHL
A candidate as one of the worst trades made by former general manager Ron Hextall, Ty Smith essentially swapped places with John Marino. Marino went on to help anchor the Devils top four as New Jersey finished one point out of first place in the Metropolitan Division, while Smith, a 2018 first round pick, finished second among blueliners on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL with 24 points in 39 games and 40th in the league with a 0.62 point per game average. Smith looked promising at the NHL level, recording four points in nine games, but needs bounce back in 2023-24–and for Pittsburgh to create room on the NHL roster for the 2018 17th overall pick.
The Ugly
Lindberg Deals Battles Injury Again, Stunting Development
To make matters worse for goaltending issues facing the Pittsburgh Penguins, Filip Lindberg, a once highly-touted undrafted free agent singing out of the University of Massachusetts, missed the majority of the season for a second consecutive year dealing with injury. Lindberg looked promising as a rookie last season, posting a 4-2-0 record with a .915 save percentage before being shutdown in November, but failed to gain any traction in 2022-23, going 6-11-1 with a 3.13 goals against average and .896 save percentage. Lindberg signed in the Finnish Liiga for the 2023-24 season.
Rookie Class Underwhelms
A handful of draft picks and free agent signings debuted for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2023-24, but none made significant impact for the team. Corey Andonovski, undrafted and signed out of Princeton University, led the way with 19 points in 62 games but already 24 years old likely remains a career minor leaguer. Lukas Svejkovsky, a 2020 fourth round pick and productive player at the junior level, managed only three goals in 47 games. Ty Glover, undrafted and signed out of Western Michigan University, picked up the scoring at the end of the season, but finished with seven goals and 12 points in 47 games. Jack St. Ivany, a former Flyers fourth round draft pick signed out of Boston College, scored no goals and recorded eight assists in 63 games. Finally, Raivis Ansons, a 2020 fifth round pick, managed only six points in 44 games.
Hallander Leaves for Sweden
Filip Hallander, a 2018 second round pick and one of the top prospects in the pipeline, elected to head back home to Sweden instead of re-upping with Pittsburgh. Hallander looked promising as a rookie in 2021-22 with 14 goals and 28 points in 61 games and upped the production from a 0.46 point per game average to a 0.77 point per game average last season with 33 points in 43 games. Despite likely being a top candidate for a bottom six spot in Pittsburgh in 2023-24, Hallander signing in Europe possibly indicates a bigger problem brewing in Pittsburgh–the inability to develop meaningful prospects over the past few seasons.