WBS Penguins Shut Out in 5-0 Loss, But Bigger Questions Loom Beyond the Scoreboard
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - There’s no sugarcoating a 5-0 loss. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins got steamrolled by the Syracuse Crunch, and the score told the story.
This wasn’t one of those games where the scoreboard lied - it was as lopsided as it looked. And while the result snapped a five-game winning streak, the bigger takeaway from Saturday night wasn’t about the streak or even the loss itself.
It was about what this game revealed - or reinforced - about the state of the Penguins’ pipeline.
“We don’t lose often, but when we do, whew, we make it an art form,” head coach Kirk MacDonald said with a laugh that only half-covered the sting.
Despite the blowout, the WBS Penguins are still sitting in second place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division with a strong 32-13-2-2 record and one of the top five winning percentages in the league. That’s no small feat. But Saturday’s game peeled back the layers on a few organizational truths - some encouraging, others more concerning.
A Team That Knows Who It Is
Let’s start with the good. The WBS Penguins are a blue-collar bunch.
They don’t have flashy scorers or elite puck-moving defensemen. What they do have is grit, structure, and a tight-knit locker room that’s bought in from top to bottom.
“Especially with the group we have in this locker room - obviously, we’re not going to win every game, but just losing one, it’s very salty for this group,” forward Boko Imama said. “That’s just the standards that we have.”
Imama’s words weren’t just lip service. This team plays like a unit.
They battle for every inch, they grind out chances, and they take pride in outworking opponents. That identity matters, especially in the AHL, where development and culture go hand in hand.
“We’re moving as one big pack,” Imama added. “Guys love each other.
We love working, coming to work, working hard, and having fun together. And I think it’s a talented group as well.
If you go from our goalies, our defense, our forwards, even our coaches are pretty hungry. So I think we just have a mix of everything.
So just better use that to an advantage and keep pushing.”
That kind of chemistry is a credit to the coaching staff and the organization. It’s also a reflection of a farm system that, for all its current flaws, has established a clear identity - and that’s no small thing.
The Center Ice Conundrum
But identity only gets you so far when you’re short on skill, and that’s where the cracks start to show. The Penguins’ prospect pool is thin down the middle, and Saturday night was a stark reminder of that.
Tristan Broz, the WBS top-line center, has been a bright spot. He was in line to be named MVP of the AHL All-Star Game before a bizarre league decision kept the Atlantic Division team out of the final. He’s shown flashes of the kind of offensive creativity and poise you want to see from a top-six center.
But the drop-off behind him is steep. The second-line pivot is Gabe Klaussen, an undrafted 22-year-old who spent most of last year in the ECHL with the Wheeling Nailers. Klaussen has held his own - 22 points in 39 games is respectable - but he’s not yet a player you build a line around, let alone a future NHL roster.
And that’s the crux of the issue. It’s not just about Klaussen.
It’s about the lack of center depth across the board. The Penguins need more playmakers in the middle - players who can drive offense, elevate their wingers, and tilt the ice.
Right now, that’s a missing piece.
Missing Firepower on the Wings
It doesn’t help that the Penguins have traded away some of their more dynamic offensive weapons. Philip Tomasino, Valtteri Puustinen, and Sam Poulin are all gone. That’s a lot of offensive talent out the door, and it’s left the current group thin on high-end skill.
The result? Games like Saturday, where the Penguins struggled to generate anything dangerous in the offensive zone. They needed someone to make a play, to create a spark - and no one could.
There’s hope on the horizon. 2025 first-rounder Bill Zonnon is putting together a strong season with Blainville-Boisbriand in the QMJHL. University of Michigan standout Will Horcoff might also be part of the solution down the line. But neither is here now, and the Penguins’ lack of offensive punch is a real-time problem.
Development vs. Production
President of Hockey Ops and GM Kyle Dubas has been clear: he wants the WBS Penguins to go on a playoff run. Not just for the wins, but for what it means in terms of player development - seeing how prospects perform under pressure, against better competition, in meaningful games.
But that vision only works if the roster is built to compete at that level. And while this team has heart and cohesion, it’s fair to wonder whether they have enough firepower to make a deep run.
That’s where the front office - including WBS GM Jason Spezza - has some decisions to make. Do they find a way to add a center to help balance the lineup?
Do they make a move to bring in more offensive skill? Or do they ride it out and hope the current group can punch above its weight?
One Bad Night, Bigger Picture
To be clear, this was one loss in an otherwise impressive season. The WBS Penguins have been one of the AHL’s most consistent teams, and they’ve done it with a roster that’s more workhorse than show pony. That’s something to be proud of.
But the loss to Syracuse - and the way it unfolded - brought some of the underlying issues into sharper focus. The chemistry is there.
The structure is there. But the talent gap, especially at center and in terms of offensive upside, is real.
There’s still time to address it. And there’s still time for players like Broz, McGroarty, and others to take another step forward. But if the Penguins want WBS to be a springboard for their next wave of NHL talent, they’ll need to give their prospects the tools - and the teammates - to succeed.
“We’ll win tomorrow, and the boys will feel better,” Imama said.
Maybe they will. But the questions raised Saturday night won’t go away that easily.