WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — The Pittsburgh Penguins prospects and minor leaguers are fighting for more season Saturday in a deciding Game 5 against the Springfield Thunderbirds, and in the process a longer runway to show management they are ready to take the next step.
In each of the last two seasons, the Penguins’ prospects met a bitter end in what essentially amounts to a play-in three-game series against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, washing out in two games. The endings, which came and went faster than an Egor Chinakhov wrister, in a small way stunted the prospect’s development, or at least failed to expose them to a small taste of the rigors that will be required of them at the next level.
And as Pittsburgh Hockey Now made the trek to Wilkes-Barre (because how else do you think I’d spend a holiday weekend?), the questions were as pointed as the bigger issues loom.
What happens to graves? Do they just bury him in the minors since they don’t need the cap relief?
— Lfusco (@lfusco85) May 23, 2026
We have not written a word about Ryan Graves for a few months. The unfortunate truth is that Graves is on the naughty list, and general manager Kyle Dubas soured on the big defenseman, for good reason.
Surprisingly, there was a mid-season push to tout his advanced analytics when paired with Connor Clifton, but such stats were a handful of pyrite because his usage was sheltered during a time when the team was struggling.
In deference to limitations, coaches have little tricks to put players in what former coach Mike Sullivan oft referred to as “positions to succeed,” but there is a big difference between those minutes and the hard minutes of penalty killing, defensive zone starts, and the final minutes of a game.
A buyout seems unlikely this summer as he still has three years remaining on his six-year deal that carries a $4.5 million annual salary cap hit (AAV), but his sub-par play over the last few seasons is now baggage that both he and the organization must overcome.
In other words, a simple improvement won’t be enough to wash the lingering disappointment. He will need a noticeable improvement in several areas to reclaim steady NHL work. Perhaps the Penguins will see another defenseman or forward on the landscape who has a similarly onerous contract and try the old “change of scenery” trade.
Brazeau: what happened? Injuries? Worn out? Fell out of coaching favor? Only gelled with Geno?…
— brian keller (@bk24681) May 23, 2026
This is a great question.
Give full credit to Penguins coach Dan Muse for making changes when they were due. Brazeau’s play had obviously fallen off sharply after he returned from his lenghty injury absence.
Whether he was limited or regressing to the mean is the primary query which more likely leans to the latter. After all, he missed months, which should have been ample time to recover, but was ineffective down the stretch. Such a pattern tracks with his previous career arc of not cracking the Boston Bruins lineup with regularity, but then putting up only two points (1-1-2) in 20 games down the stretch last season with the Minnesota Wild.
Undoubtedly, teams look at his size and soft hands and wonder what could be. For a brief stretch, he showed everyone, but as quickly as his potentially career-changing hot streak arrived, it changed.
Perhaps with a guaranteed roster spot next season, a good talk from coaches–use your body–will pay dividends next season.
Dark horse candidate to make the Pittsburgh penguins roster out of training camp next year?
— Justin bayly (@justinbayly949) May 22, 2026
Oh, there will be a few dark horse candidates to claim a roster spot next season, and there will be significant competition for the few open spots. Organizationally, Avery Hayes is still on the periphery, but his fourth-line skills could translate perfectly to the Penguins’ openings.
However, the player that will attract a lot of eyes is Bill Zonnon. Give the kid a summer in the weight room to build on his first taste of pro hockey, and we could see something very real.
On the inside, the organization has cooled expectations, but Zonnon is the reason that I’m in Wilkes-Barre. I want to see him away from the puck, in the defensive zone, and his reads on the play–all things you just can’t get on TV or simple minor-league streams. Make no mistake, Zonnon has the size, speed, and pedigree to make the team, but he will face a few of the normal challenges, including confidence, resilience, and … more confidence.
For many young players, the first exposure to that level of competition can make them question themselves or oversimplify to avoid mistakes. The one trait that allowed Ben Kindel to have such an impact this season was his seeming indifference to his situation.
Many reporters tried to ask Kindel leading questions about how cool it is to play beside Sidney Crosby or play against other star players, and while he would politely answer, he essentially shrugged, as if to say, “Yeah, so what? I’m here, too.”
Kindel sort of chuckled when I told him the adjective I used to describe his play later in the season was “fearless.” He enjoyed the physicality of the intense hockey in March and April, despite being 5-foot-10, 180 pounds.
That assertive confidence made him unique, and if Zonnon can borrow a spoonful, he really has a chance. Of course, I may have an entirely different opinion on Sunday after watching him play Saturday in Game 5, so I’ll beg your indulgences if a flip-flop is necessary.
One player to watch for later next season (not out of camp) is righty defenseman Chase Pietela. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder is a calm defenseman who makes simple plays and does his job. I find myself noticing him, almost out of nowhere, to keep the play alive in the offensive zone or quickly nullifying a rush in the neutral zone, and just as quickly as he appeared, he vanishes back into the game until he’s needed again.
Pietila could be a player who gets a run if the team has injuries or consistency issues plague Harrison Brunicke or Jack St. Ivany.
With Gauthier’s performance the last few years and him warranting the WBS net, what’s the likelihood that Blomqvist gets traded and a AAAA vet gets signed to mentor/get called up so D’Aigle can get the reps in Wheeling?
— Brian Cersosimo (@TheGM42) May 22, 2026
From the outside, the Penguins’ goaltending situation seems fairly settled: Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov, with Joel Blomqvist and Taylor Gauthier in Wilkes-Barre.
Easy peasy, right?
By his own words, Dubas promised a competition between Murashov and Blomqvist in training camp, so that’s what we should expect. Situations can always change, and perhaps Blomqvist is needed as a sweetener or balance to a summer trade, but such a scenario seems a bit beyond the realm of reality as Blomqvist doesn’t have much trade value because he’s not even the No. 1 goalie in WBS and did not meet the standard in his lengthy NHL stint in 2024-25.
For Blomqvist to have trade value, he will need to have a notable training camp and preseason. Don’t forget, Murashov is only 21 years old, so there’s no rush to get him to the NHL until his play absolutely demands it.
Tags: bill zonnon Joel Blomqvist justin brazeau Pittsburgh Penguins ryan graves sergei murahov
Categorized:PHN Blog