The 2025-26 season is rapidly approaching, and it is going to be interesting to see how the Pittsburgh Penguins perform after their busy off-season. When looking at their current roster, they have some under-the-radar players who could end up being nice surprises for them in 2025-26. Let's discuss two of them.
Philip Tomasino
The Penguins acquired Philip Tomasino during this past season after he had a cold start to the campaign with the Nashville Predators. After posting one assist in 11 games with Nashville in 2024-25, Tomasino had 11 goals and 23 points in 50 games with Pittsburgh following the trade. Overall, the 24-year-old had a solid start to his Penguins tenure and will be looking to build off it.
Tomasino has also shown early on in his career that he has the potential to provide decent offense when playing at his best. Perhaps this will be the year that the 2019 first-round breaks out and cements himself as a true top-six forward.
Justin Brazeau
Justin Brazeau is a new Penguins forward who fans should not sleep on in 2025-26. The 6-foot-6 winger has shown promise early on in his NHL career, as he can provide decent secondary offense in addition to grit. During this past season, he set career highs with 11 goals, 11 assists, 22 points, and 123 hits in 76 games split between the Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild.
When noting that Brazeau is only entering his third NHL season, the possibility of the 27-year-old breaking out should not be ruled. Thus, he could end up being a nice surprise for the Penguins in 2025-26.