Training camp always has a way of shaking up the picture, and for the Pittsburgh Penguins, that could mean a few prospects getting a longer look than most people expected.
The roster is set to look different from last season, and there’s still a real opening for a young player to force his way onto the NHL club. Pittsburgh could use help on the blue line, especially on the left side, and there’s also room for one of its developmental players to seize a job by standing out in preseason. That makes this camp worth watching closely, because the Penguins will be sorting through options and the prospects will have to earn every inch.
Rutger McGroarty is one of the names that jumps out first. After a pair of letdown NHL stints, he’s running short on time to prove he belongs among the Penguins’ top skater prospects.
He still hasn’t been able to settle in at the NHL level, and the expectation is that he needs a strong camp to stick in Pittsburgh this season. If he can’t make the roster, his outlook with the organization gets a lot murkier.
The forward group is crowded heading into camp, and that could lead to a trade or two. If that happens, McGroarty’s path gets a little clearer. Even then, he’ll have to earn it by outplaying names such as Justin Brazeau and Nick Robertson, along with anyone else in the mix after the final moves are made.
Owen Pickering is another prospect who can’t be ignored, even though he has slipped in the Penguins’ internal pecking order. He’s still only 22 and still carries the label of a former first-round pick. The big opportunity is there because Samuel Girard is the only left-handed defenseman currently projected to make the team.
That means at least one left-side spot remains up for grabs unless something changes before camp breaks. Pickering has not found his way back to the big club since a short but strong run with the team a few seasons ago, and now he’s in a direct battle with Ryan Graves for the final spot on the bottom pair.
Trevor Van Reimsdyk also appears headed for the left side, even if that feels like a questionable fit. Pickering still has a chance to turn that first-round promise into something real.
Then there’s Bill Zonnon, one of Pittsburgh’s three first-round picks in 2025, and maybe the most intriguing long shot of the group. He’s already started showing why the Penguins valued him so highly, and there’s at least a chance he beats the odds and wins a roster spot this early in his development.
That would be a strong outcome for both sides. The Penguins have already shown with Ben Kindel that they are willing to keep young skaters around.
Zonnon dealt with injuries last season, but when he was healthy, he caught fire. He finished his year with a strong stretch and then made a major impact during the AHL Penguins’ playoff run, where he was a key catalyst despite still being a teenager.
If he does make the jump, a fourth-line role would make sense and would fit his skillset well to begin his career.
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