CRANBERRY, TWP. — One practice is not exactly the most secure ground from which to make observations and begin to form opinions about young prospects, but given the quick weekend for the prospects and only three practices next week before the team begins sending their future back to junior hockey and the minors, even coaches will be shortchanged regarding evaluation time.
And so, it makes both sense and a difficult task to offer initial impressions, using the July development camp as a baseline comparison. Yet, there were some notable things Friday at the Penguins prospects team practice at the UPMC Lemieux complex.
Penguins Prospects Impressions
**The Rucks–Liam and Markus–were on a line with Travis Hayes. There were two things that stood out about the Rucks. First, in both 3v3 and 5v5 drills, the Rucks looked for each other as their first option. And the second option. And THEN they looked for Hayes or a defenseman.
They really do have a way of getting to the net and then finding each other.
The second, probably more important, point about watching Liam, the Penguins’ 22nd overall first-round pick, and Markus, selected 39th overall, was that their skating had noticeably improved since July.
They’ve clearly been working on their skating.
**I know there is quite a bit of interest in Tommy Galvas, the team’s 2026 second-round pick. However, like in July, we’re not yet seeing skating or an overall game that overcomes his slight stature. Now, that’s just a single practice, and the intensity of a game changes players, so there’s a lot more to see.
**The older players had no reason to dominate the younger prospects. Players like Jake Livanavage and Atlety Calvert could probably have put on a show against the newbies, but instead simply worked within practice.
**Tanner Howe had an aggressive stance and approach to practice. That’s very good news. Despite being drafted in 2024, this is his first real offseason of prep while being healthy and able to attack the task at hand.
**Defenseman Finn Harding, the mayor of the Penguins locker room. He’s a beaut.
**Bill Zonnon just has “it.” He didn’t necessarily outskate anyone, and he didn’t overpower anyone in practice, but the inescapable conclusion, watching him in the live-fire hockey drills, is that he’s playing a step ahead. He is where the puck is going, and things seem to happen when he’s involved.
Tags:Liam Ruck Markus Ruck Penguins Prospects
Categorized:PHN+ Pittsburgh Penguins