Even if the Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t making a huge push to be Stanley Cup contenders in 2025-26, they have had a relatively active summer up to this point.
Many are still waiting on what feels like inevitable trade news regarding at least one of Erik Karlsson, Rickard Rakell, or Bryan Rust, but GM and POHO Kyle Dubas has already made a lot of small moves - some, seemingly, placeholder moves to fill the roster flip at the deadline, and others upside moves for younger players in need of a change.
As it stands now, the Penguins have 13 forwards, eight defensemen, and two goaltenders on their active roster. And two players who are not listed on the roster?
That would be young forward prospects Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty.
Koivunen, 22, and McGroarty, 21, both made strong impressions in a small sample size to close out the 2024-25 season. Koivunen was nearly point-per-game playing alongside both Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby in the top-six, registering seven points in eight games. And McGroarty wasn’t far behind, either, before a lower-body injury ended his season, as he put up a goal and three points in five games with Crosby.
The Penguins are at a point in their rebuild where they need to start getting a feel for which of their near-NHL-ready prospects will be part of their future plans. Koivunen and McGroarty both showed a lot of promise in their season-ending NHL stints, and they certainly showed that they are NHL-ready.
The problem is that - given those moves the Penguins have made so far to fill up their roster space - it’s far from a guarantee that they’ll even make the opening night roster.
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Dubas said just prior to free agency that the Penguins are not just going to hand opportunities to even their most promising young prospects and that they’d have to earn their way onto the roster during training camp. And that’s why he intended on - and followed through on - acquiring and signing players to shorter-term deals.
“I think the key thing is that we want these guys to earn it,” Dubas said. “So, if we just start handing the guys spots, we’re going to very quickly lose what I think the Penguins have been about for a very long time and what’s made the Penguins a great team in the league since the early 90s.”
He added: “It’s right there for them. We’re not going to block them, but they’re going to have to go out and prove that they can be here, and they’re going to have to earn their way here… It’s trying to find that balance between not blocking players but making them earn it and also having enough depth to be competitive on a nightly basis.”
So, realistically, who will Koivunen and McGroarty be competing against to make the roster, and do both of them have a realistic shot at cracking the roster from the jump?
To be clear, a lot of this depends on what happens with Rakell and Rust. If both are on the roster to begin the season, it definitely complicates matters for both players. But since - as of now - both are still in Pittsburgh, it’s best to operate on the assumption that they will still be around, at least, for now.
Right now, here are the 13 forwards on the Penguins’ active roster, according to Puckpedia:
- Crosby
- Malkin
- Rust
- Rakell
- Kevin Hayes
- Tommy Novak
- Anthony Mantha
- Danton Heinen
- Noel Acciari
- Blake Lizotte
- Philip Tomasino
- Justin Brazeau
- Connor Dewar
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Assuming that no one else gets moved off the roster, the players already on the roster who figure to be in competition for spots - along with Koivunen and McGroarty - are Heinen, Tomasino, Brazeau, Acciari, Hayes, and Dewar. In addition, there will be a few other prospects competing for those same spots as well, which will include the likes of Tristan Broz, Avery Hayes, Sam Poulin, and Filip Hallander - the reigning Swedish Hockey League (SHL) forward of the year after recording 26 goals and 53 points in 51 games with Timra IK.
In other words, making the roster is certainly an uphill climb for both Koivunen and McGroarty if there are no other moves to alter the current roster prior to puck drop on Oct. 7. But, despite that, the young forwards are two of the best prospects in the Penguins’ system, and their sample size at the end of last season should give them a leg up on pretty much every other prospect who will be vying for a spot as long as they show up ready to compete at camp.
And if only one makes the roster?
Honestly, this is a tough exercise because both showed they are ready in their own right. Koivunen’s age makes it a bit more pertinent for him to be in the NHL mix now, and his AHL season in 2024-25 certainly earned him that opportunity, as he put up 21 goals and 56 points in 63 games and finished third among rookies in scoring.
But McGroarty’s all-around game is hard to ignore, as was his chemistry with Crosby. He heated up in the back half of the AHL season and experienced immense growth from the start of the season - when he made the team out of camp and played three NHL games before being sent to the AHL - to the end of the season. Him starting in the AHL probably wouldn’t be as unpalatable as Koivunen starting there, only because it would give him a chance to prove he can sustain his production and growth from the end of 2024-25.
In all honesty, however, both deserve an NHL roster spot. And, as long as they don’t fail camp, Penguins’ fans should expect to see their names on the final roster following training camp.
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Feature Image Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images