The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins finished 4th in the Atlantic Division and 6th in the Eastern Conference, winning at least 40 games for the first time since the 2017-18 season with a 40-24-7-1 record. The team lost some momentum down the stretch due and fell flat in the postseason for a second consecutive season dealing with injury and several top players getting looks at the NHL level.
Multiple rookies and second year players showed promising signs of development through the 2024-25 season, giving the Penguins organization some legitimate prospects to be excited about for the first time in several seasons as the organization starts to pivot to a rebuild. Take a look at players trending up, raising question marks, and trending down after the team hit 40 wins in the regular season for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
Trending Up
Ville Koivunen
Ville Koivunen enjoyed a bit of a breakout season in the Finnish Liiga in 2023-24, recording 56 points in 59 games, and continued pace as a rookie in the AHL by leading the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with 55 points in 62 games. The 2021 second round pick acquired as part of the Jake Guentzel trade two seasons ago debuted at the NHL level near the end of the season and impressed with seven points in eight games. Koivunen looks to push for a permanent spot in Pittsburgh next season with the potential to spend some time in the AHL depending on trades and/or free agent signings.
Rutger McGroarty
Rutger McGroarty started the season in the NHL but failed the eye test after three games and joined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The 2022 first round pick acquired last summer in exchange for 2023 first round pick Brayden Yager needed some time to adjust to the professional level, recording 12 points in 25 games through December, but found a groove in the second half of the season with 27 points in 35 games in 2025. McGroarty re-joined Pittsburgh at the end of the season and recorded three points in five games before suffering a broken foot from blocking a shot. Expect McGroarty to be given every chance to make the Pittsburgh roster permanently in 2025-26 and try to match strong production at the University Michigan, boasting 91 points in 75 games over two seasons.
Avery Hayes
Undrafted and originally signed to a minor league contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Avery Hayes battled through adversary, including missing most of the 2023-24 season due to injury, and earned a contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins after a strong sophomore season. Hayes tied for the team lead in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with 23 goals and finished fifth on the team with 42 points in 60 games. Though only 5’10”, 174 lbs., Hayes brings a physical style of play to the lineup and looks to be molding into a potential bottom six forward at the NHL level in the near future.
Owen Pickering
Though 13 points in 47 games seems like a relatively low output, Owen Pickering led Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with a +18 plus/minus rating and took steps in development toward a shutdown bluliner at the NHL level. Already 6’5″ and starting to fill out at 185 lbs., Pickering looked competent in 25 games at the NHL level last season, recording three points, and providing a steady presence on a blueline filled with offensive-minded defensemen. Barring some trades, expect Pickering, only 21 years old, to start the 2025-26 season in the AHL with the goal of joining and staying with Pittsburgh at some point in the season.
Tough To Tell
Tristan Broz
Similar to a college career filled with up and downs, Tristan Broz proved to be streaky at times as a rookie with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season–going through hot streaks and dry spells and missing a decent chunk of the season recovering from illness. The 2021 second round pick finished eighth on the team with 37 points in 59 games, including 19 goals a year after helping Denver University win a National Championship with 40 points in 43 games. Broz likely needs to step into a bigger role with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton next season with a few openings anticipated in the top six.
Joel Blomqvist
Shuttling between the AHL and NHL combined with injury issues led to a dip in performance for second-year goaltender Joel Blomqvist after a stellar rookie season in 2023-24. The 2020 second round pick still managed a .914 save percentage in 18 appearances, but a 3.81 goals against average and .885 save percentage in 15 NHL appearances. Named to the AHL All-Rookie Team last season with a .921 save percentage and 2.16 goals against average, expect the Penguins to let Blomqvist find some stability at the AHL level to start next season before making a decision on the goaltending situation at the NHL level going forward.
Vasily Ponomarev
Vasily Ponomarev never really seemed to find a groove with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins despite finishing sixth on the team with 41 points in 55 games–tied for third with a 0.75 point per game average. The 2020 second round pick acquired as part of the Jake Guentzel trade went without a point in seven NHL appearances and, without a clear path to join Pittsburgh next season, opted to return to the KHL instead of re-upping with the Penguins organization. Perhaps the possibility of a reunion similar to Filip Hallander rejoining the organization after two years in Europe exists, depending on the level of production in Russia.
Samuel Poulin
Samuel Poulin continued to make marginal improvements in production in a fourth season in the AHL, but, similar to past seasons, lost momentum after exiting the lineup due to injury and looked inconsistent at times. Still the 2019 first round pick established new career highs of 19 goals, 24 assists, and 43 points–good for fourth on the team–in 57 games. Entering a contract season and 24 years old, Poulin needs to find a way to stick in the bottom six in Pittsburgh or likely look for a fresh start with another organization or overseas in 2026.
Trending Down
Valtteri Puustinen
After a relatively successful stint at the NHL level in 2023-24 with 20 points in 52 games, Valtteri Puustinen turned into the odd man out in Pittsburgh and returned to the AHL in late November and remained, putting up 35 points in 48 games–a dip in production from lead the team with 59 points in 72 games two season ago. Now 25 years old with a year remaining on a contract, perhaps a mutually agreed upon contract termination allows the 2019 seventh round pick to return to Finland.
Isaac Belliveau
After a good rookie season in the professional ranks almost exclusively with the Wheeling Nailers and high hopes entering 2024-25, Isaac Belliveau failed stick at the AHL level, recording seven points in 22 games and spending the second half of the season back in the ECHL. The 2022 fifth round pick–now 22 years old managed a 0.64 point per game pace with the Nailers–a slight jump slight jump on a 0.54 pace the year before and likely gets the chance to find stability at the AHL level next season in a contract year.
Chase Stillman
Tacked on as part of a trade with the New Jersey Devils at the trade deadline, a change of scenery failed to pan out for Chase Stillman. The 2021 first round pick managed only three points in 19 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after recording nine points in 46 games with the Utica Comets prior to the trade. Only 22 years old and still under contract for the 2025-26 season, Stillman hopes to settle in with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and start to live up to the first round pedigree.
Raivis Ansons
Sometimes availability proves to be the best ability. Raivis Ansons scored a goal in nine appearances early in 2024-25 before missing the remained of the season with injury. Ansons played in only 42 games between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Wheeling in 2023-24 and 44 games as a rookie in 2022-23. Inability to stay healthy likely hindered any chance for the 2020 fifth round pick to develop at the professional level, but Ansons opted to stay with the organization, signing a minor league contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for next season.
Though several players figure to be given a chance at prominent roles at the NHL level in 2025-26, expect continued development and potentially a breakout season or two from some now-familiar names in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton bolstered by the arrival of some new faces in former draft picks like forwards Melvin Fernstrom (2024, 93rd overall) and Mikhail Ilyin (2023, 142nd overall) and blueliner Emil Pieniniemi (2023, 91st overall).