"If they continue to push all the way, and it's very clear that they should be on the team, then they'll make the team."
Those were Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas's words at the start of Penguins training camp on Sept. 18.
"We'll deal with whatever the ripple effects of those are on some of the more veteran guys. The message to the veteran guys is that the young guys are coming. They're going to get an opportunity," Dubas concluded.
But on Tuesday evening, that was not the case despite a golden opportunity to advance players of the future.
As the opportunity presented itself to include more youth in the lineup–young players who indeed pushed all the way through training camp–Dubas demurred. With injuries to Justin Brazeau and Noel Acciari , space opened on the Penguins roster.
Instead of young players who performed well in camp, the Penguins chose to recall NHL journeyman forward Danton Heinen over their own 2021 second-round pick Tristan Broz , demoted rookie Owen Pickering for veteran Ryan Graves , and left WBS winger Avery Hayes to fill the nets at Mohegan Arena. Even 2019 first-round pick Sam Poulin , who has eight points (3-5-8) in 11 games, could have gotten the call but did not.
Why didn't they?
It got worse Thursday morning when the team recalled career 4-A player Joona Koppanen .
The Penguins have had a better start to the season than anyone could have predicted. Despite a couple of bad losses to conclude the recent road trip, the Penguins are still 8-4-2, and in second place in the Metro Division , tied with the first-place New Jersey Devils with 18 points.
And it seems the situation has changed. Those wins and position in the standings are causing Dubas to push pause on the expansion of the youth movement.
Broz, 23, had a strong training camp, and the 2021 second-round pick (58th overall) should have made the team; only the emergence of 18-year-old rookie Ben Kindel to take the third-line center spot denied Broz his NHL moment.
Wednesday, Heinen centered the Penguins' third line while Kindel elevated to right wing on the Penguins' top line beside Sidney Crosby , and Broz remained in WBS.
"It's something we wanted to look at. Another option," coach Dan Muse said.
Broz is a center. If the Penguins are going to use Ben Kindel on the wing in the interim, they need a center. Yet they recalled Heinen, a 30-year-old with almost no center experience. Both Broz and Heinen are left-handed sticks, so there's only one explanation: choosing a veteran.
Heinen was the leading scorer for the WBS Penguins with 14 points (5-9-14) in 11 games and is too good for the AHL, but that would seem to be part of the "rippling effect" of pushing forward the next generation.
And just for good measure, the Harrison Brunicke decision looms.
The Broz snub seemed particularly peculiar given the stated penchant to promote the young players. Heinen isn't a center and only began playing in the middle a few weeks ago because of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's dearth of pivots.
In 11 AHL games, Broz has eight points, including five goals. The increasingly swift skater with soft hands and growing defensive prowess was strong in preseason. It seemed a fait-a-complit that he would make the team until Kindel also made a bid for that spot.
In fairness, the Pickering for Graves swap made sense. Pairing the rookie defensemen, Pickering and Harrison Brunicke , was not yielding positive results for either player or the team. This season, Pickering's play in Pittsburgh has been cautious to the point of betraying his potential and being detrimental to his success.
Last week, PHN reported that Dubas tried to acquire another veteran left-handed defenseman, but the potential trade partners either didn't like his offers or he didn't like the prices. So, Graves, who was waived after training camp despite four more years remaining on his contract, will get another shot to revive his career.
Perhaps even more peculiar about the Broz and Hayes snub is that the Penguins had only 12 healthy forwards (until Thursday morning). So, one might infer that 33-year-old veteran forward Kevin Hayes is about ready to return to the lineup.
A debate over whether or not K. Hayes should return to the lineup now seems moot. Last season, Hayes had 13 goals and 23 points in 63 games, continuing a declining offensive trend that began with the 2023-24 St. Louis Blues .
There are two paths forward for the Penguins roster. One is to stay the course and push for more younger players via development and trade, independent of the on-ice results, good or bad. The other is to build upon the start and do what is necessary to make the playoffs, seizing on the strong start.
There is no doubt that Dubas meant those words on Sept. 18. He prepared to deal with the fallout of too many veteran players without jobs, but eight wins and the abounding optimism created by a strong start have seemingly altered or delayed the strategy. Perhaps the growing possibility of a playoff berth, or at least the chase, is too tantalizing to ignore.
Even though now, with a bank of wins and growing enthusiasm, it seems like the perfect time to ramp up the youth movement.
The post Kingerski: Penguins Miss Golden Chance, Why Did Dubas Stray From Youth? appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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