With two full days of Prospect Development Camp in the books for the Pittsburgh Penguins, there has been a lot to digest.
On Friday, Russian forward prospect Mikhail Ilyin - who signed his three-year entry-level contract last month - finally made his way over from Russia and to the facility (he didn't get to Pittsburgh until late Thursday night, so he didn't participate in camp). Todd Nelson spoke to the media for the first time since being named as an assistant coach on Dan Muse's staff - and the big man himself, Muse, also made an appearance.
While there were several storylines coming out of Day 2 - and more that we'll cover later on - we're still here to talk about standouts. On Thursday, it was clear that Harrison Brunicke, Bill Zonnon, and Travis Hayes had an elevated step on almost everyone else.
To be clear, Brunicke is still the standout at this camp. There isn't really anything he's done that hasn't impressed me up to this point, aside from a moment during Friday's skills session that I'll get to in a second. So, for all intents and purposes - and to give others the floor - let's just assume that Brunicke is the daily standout all the way through the end of Monday.
However, there were a few players that began to show a lot more on Friday than they did the previous day. And, one, in particular, made even Brunicke look silly once.
Here are three standouts from Day Two of Penguins' development camp:
Penguins Prospect Development Camp: Standouts From Day 1On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Penguins opened their annual Prospect Development Camp, which features 48 players both from the Penguins' system and outside of it.
Ben Kindel
There were a lot of fans who questioned the Penguins' decision to draft Kindel 11th overall this season, given some of the other names that were still available at that point.
After two days at development camp - although it's a short sample size - I'm starting to see what the Penguins were probably seeing.
In case you were wondering, yes, Kindel is the one who made Brunicke look silly on Friday. Unfortunately, the entire sequence wasn't captured on film, but during a one-on-one drill down low, Kindel - already, arguably, the Penguins' best forward prospect - and Brunicke - the Penguins' best defensive prospect - were pitted against one another.
Reaction: Penguins Select Center Ben Kindel 11th Overall In 2025 NHL DraftThe 2025 NHL Draft is finally upon us.
Kindel led Brunicke to the corner and then proceeded to completely deke Brunicke out and undress him. Brunicke wiped out as a result, and Kindel walked to the net front, faked out the goaltender while navigating across the front of the net, and put one home.
Everyone in the crowd went nuts and was in awe. This is not an easy thing to do to Brunicke, who is actually a pretty formidable one-on-one defender. And Kindel toyed with him then ate him for lunch.
I actually asked Brunicke about it afterward.
"He's a shifty player," he said. "He got me there, for sure. Hopefully, that's not on Twitter."
Sorry, Harrison. The video itself only has Kindel's goal - and Brunicke recovering from his wipeout - but the internet does know what happened.
Didn't catch Brunicke wiping out, unfortunately, but caught the goal. pic.twitter.com/7oTCk83rTs
— Kelsey Surmacz (@kelsey_surmacz4) July 4, 2025
All joking aside, Kindel's edgework is top-notch. His speed is something that he was knocked for a bit, but his skating - as a whole - looks pretty refined. There were also several times today when it was evident that he was outthinking and outsmarting everyone else around him, allowing him to play a "speed game" without having the high-end footspeed.
It's a small sample size, and there are still three days of camp remaining. But I'm beginning to buy what the Penguins are selling on Kindel. Several WHL scouts have said that Kindel would have gone top-10 - some even say top-five - if he wasn't 5-foot-10.
I'm no prospects expert, but I'm beginning to believe them. This kid was some serious skill.
Oliver Tulk
If this is a name you have not heard, it's probably because, no, Tulk isn't in the Penguins' system.
But you might want to write his name down.
Tulk, 20, registered 38 goals and 100 points last season for the Calgary Wranglers of the WHL. And he played with none other than Kindel and Tanner Howe, who was invited to camp but could not attend due to recovery from ACL surgery.
Here is a small snippet of Oliver Tulk - a University of Wisconsin commit - who registered 38 goals and 100 points for the Calgary Hitmen last season alongside #LetsGoPens prospects Ben Kindel and Tanner Howe.
— Kelsey Surmacz (@kelsey_surmacz4) July 4, 2025
Tulk was invited to development camp. pic.twitter.com/dBha4nh4ZV
Is it a coincidence that Tulk is here? Probably not, actually. Even if one gets the chance to play with a high-end player like Kindel, no one puts up 100 points solely because of someone else.
Tulk has legitimate skill. He was able to show some of that off during battle drills down low, and he made a few nice moves to work for a goal during one of the drills. He is undersized at 5-foot-8, 174 pounds, but he seems to be able to work around that with his skating and anticipation skills.
I will have a feature piece on Tulk, Kindel, and Howe later this weekend. But this is a player to keep an eye on, as he may, very well, earn an AHL contract.
With Breadth Of Positional Depth In The System, Penguins' Defensive Prospects Eager To Take Next StepsWhen Pittsburgh Penguins’ Prospect Development Camp began on Thursday, 48 players took the to the ice - some for the first time in black and gold, others returned to a familiar place.
Gabriel D'Aigle
Many people scoffed at the idea of the Penguins drafting a goaltender in the third round who played for the OHL's worst team and seemed to be bleeding goals against.
Admittedly, D'Aigle's stat line is less than impressive. The 6-foot-4, 211-pound netminder had an .883 save percentage last season to go along with a 4.42 goals-against average. But his team - the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL - was absolutely bleeding chances against, and his workload was much, much larger than that of anyone else in the QMJHL.
NHL News: Penguins Take Interesting Goalie With Pick No. 84The Pittsburgh Penguins have selected goaltender Gabriel D'Aigle with the 84th overall pick of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
D'Aigle faced 1,940 shots in 55 games - an average of 35 shots per game - which was 241 more shots faced than the next QMJHL goaltender. As a result, he also made more saves in the league than anyone else with 1,713, as the next-closest mark was 1,542.
This guy is a workhorse. And - watching him Friday - it's clear that the toolset is there. His lateral movement - while not necessarily slow - could use more power in the push-off, but his angles seem to be pretty spot-on, and he is also pretty quick with the glove hand.
I'm curious to see how the rest of camp goes for D'Aigle. I don't know enough about him - or about goaltending in general - to make any kind of serious assessment. But it does seem like he has the foundational skillset to be able to grow, improve, and take his game to the next level.
And that can only be a good thing for an organization that already boasts some goaltending depth.
With Nedeljkovic Traded, Penguins Are Starting To Solve Goaltender LogjamThe Pittsburgh Penguins made a surprise move on July 1, shipping backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to the San Jose Sharks for a third-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft. Nedeljkovic had been the backup for the past two seasons before Penguins general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas moved him.
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Feature image credit: Kelsey Surmacz - The Hockey News