2026-27 Pittsburgh Penguins Player Projections: Connor Dewar
Connor Dewar had a career year for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. Can he repeat it this year?
Video Transcript
Hunter, just given the roster that we're working with right now, and again, this is a big if, it's not gonna look like this on opening night.
I mean, I would almost 99% guarantee that this is not going to be what this roster looks like on opening night.
But if it is, I mean, how do you work this thing?
What, what, what are some potential lineups here?
How do you work some of these young guys in?
How do you work the blue line?
Because another thing too, Harrison Brunick is knocking right on the door, and all of a sudden you have five right defensemen.
I mean, how is this all gonna work next year, if this is the roster that they walk into the season with?
I mean, gr- great question.
I mean, right now, and I expect this to change as well, I don't think this is gonna be the roster- Yeah you see at the end of September when the season starts.
You go Raquel Crosby, Russ, as of right now, Chinakov, Novak, Malkin most likely.
Third line, I think you're going Kindle with Kuzmenko and maybe Elmer Soderblom.
Maybe that's Nick Robertson, or maybe you put Robertson on the fourth line with 'Cause the fourth line you're gonna have Dewar and Lazon, 100%.
The two spots that are up for grabs are one spot on the fourth line and one spot, I think, on the third line.
And you got Hendrick Slopier going for that, Elmer Soderblom, Justin Brazeau, N- Nick Robertson, et cetera.
If I had to say, probably Robertson on the fourth line with Dewar and Lazon, and then on the third line, I'd say right now maybe Soderblom with Justin Brazeau kind of as, like, that 13 forward.
And then Hendrick Slopier right there as well.
Just kind of spitballing.
And then that doesn't even get into McGrory, Koivonen, Philip Hollander, if he is also cleared to come back from his blood clot.
Yeah.
We'll have to see where the update is on that.
Hopefully everything is okay.
Avery Hayes.
Kelsey, we're almost at 18 forwards at that point.
So I think something is gonna have to give here with the forward group.
Those, that, that's just me spitballing.
Defensively, I mean, we all know Carlson's on the top pair.
Korczak and Letang are probably gonna go down the right side, if I had to guess.
And I think they'll move TVR a bit to the left side.
I almost don't even wanna guess some of these pairings, just because- I feel like I could be dead wrong.
Maybe they put TVR on the top pair.
Maybe that's Declan Carlisle, Sam Girard maybe on the third pair.
A- again, they're just gonna keep interchanging those pairs- Right until they find something that really sticks.
But I am with you on the goalies.
I think right now it's gonna be Shelov and Merishov.
Unless, Kelsey, they go out and maybe get a third goalie they can kind of rotate, like a veteran, but I'm not really sure if they really wanna do that.
It's, you know, it's a very young tandem.
It's, you know, very feast or famine potentially, just because two young goalies who still don't have a lot of NHL experience, Mer- Merishov only has three games.
But they seem committed to giving him that chance in the NHL, at least right now.
So those are kind of my main thoughts on the roster right now, but I expect this to change in the next two and a half months, so.
Yeah.
It'll be, I, I honestly, as interesting as the defense is, I mean, it's kind of one of those things for me with the defense, it could go either way.
I could see them walking into next season with this defense core the way it is.
I don't necessarily think that's going to happen.
I think there still might be, you know, something in the works with a left defenseman.
But once again, you kind of pointed it out earlier, maybe they're kind of betting on Carlisle to be that next Wotherspoon, and be that next find on there.
And maybe they're kind of, they have a few guys in mind for the next couple years.
Maybe Owen Pickering takes a step.
Because, you know, I mean, they, that is something that Kyle Dubas talked about.
Tom Kostopoulos, director of player development, also talked about this during development camp.
They were really impressed with Pickering's second half in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season, and they loved his playoff performance.
Obviously, he was injured for a lot of the AHL playoffs as well.
But I mean, they really liked what they saw from Pickering.
They said that a lot of the unevenness and, and inconsistency in his game- was kind of ironed out.
He became a lot more consistent, the second half, which has honestly been the, the knock with him.
They still do believe that he's going to be a pretty, you know, good shutdown guy at the NHL level.
They're hoping to get that out of him.
And I mentioned, I think Brunick probably starts the year in the NHL next season.
Give him the top pairing minutes.
Let him cook there.
You know, I don't think he's going to be there all season long.
I think he's going to be in the NHL at some point.
I don't have an issue with them starting him there though, just to give him some runway to really, you know, kind of kill it down there, and then come up to the NHL, level more ready, and more primed to go.
And given the log jam on right defense right now, it's kind of hard to see him getting many looks, without some movement.
And that also makes you kind of wonder, you know, what might be up the Penguins' sleeve here too, because, you know, I do think, you mentioned earlier you don't think Kindle would be part of any kind of big trade.
No.
I wouldn't say the same for Brunick.
I do think that there are a few situations where I could see the Penguins moving on from Brunick if it could net them the right player.
And it's a little bit risky given the fact that this is gonna be Carlson's, last year in his contract.
Obviously, we know the direction that Letang's heading.
Korczak's kind of a big unknown.
Yeah.
You'd like to have that assurance that they have that, you know, kind of pretty high upside prospect on the right side.
But I wouldn't rule out the possibility that Harrison Brunick might be considered in some trade discussions here.
But anyway, I, I, I wouldn't be surprised if the Penguins rolled out this defense to defensive core to start the season.
I think there's a workaround to it.
You mentioned TVR.
He does play both sides.
I wouldn't be surprised to see him paired with Carlson or Letang.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Carlisle paired with the other.
Maybe Pickering makes the team out of camp.
You still have Girard, who, like you said earlier, he was injured after he was dealt to Pittsburgh.
Before he was dealt to Pittsburgh, they didn't know that.
But then he played the rest of the season with an injury.
And he did start to get some, you know, his feet under him in the last handful of regular season games.
So, you know- I could see it.
I don't necessarily think it will happen that way, but I could see the defense.
Forwards, no way.
I mean, there's, there, something's gotta give there.
You said it.
I really think this is kind of setting the table, like I said earlier, for one of Rust or Rakell to be in a different uniform to start next season.
Kind of seems like they were trying to build out a little bit of scoring depth to maybe offset the loss of one of those guys.
I don't think one of those guys leaves without any kind of significant return, whether that's a part of a bigger trade for a bigger player, or whether it's to fetch some assets to be able to leverage.
We don't know that.
That's kind of my suspicion and my read on the situation, if I had to guess.
Because I mean, there's just too many guys right now.
I mean, we've had a history of this for a few years now, where the Penguins have, you know, and Dubas has gotten out and acquired a bunch of middle six, bottom six guys, which is great, you know, for the NHL squad.
But at some point, you gotta give these young guys some runway.
And right now, even if you take a couple of these guys out of the situation, that's still not enough room.
I mean, so it's gonna be, it's gonna be an uphill climb for guys like Rucker McGorty, Ville Koivunen.
We mentioned it, Tristan Bros, who I think would've gotten a longer NHL look last season, had he not been injured at the wrong time, because he was actually injured when all the Penguins', center injuries started happening last season.
So, you know, Avery Hayes, those are all guys that should be seeing NHL time next season, and just with the roster as currently constructed, that just won't happen.
