The Pittsburgh Penguins have been busy preparing for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. They’ve hired a new coaching staff, including new head coach Dan Muse and former player Nick Bonino as an assistant coach. Despite the advances off the ice, the play on the ice still needs to improve heading into next season.
Related: 2 Areas the Penguins Should Focus on in the 2025-26 Season
The Penguins are not Stanley Cup contenders, and they aren’t even playoff contenders, but they have a roster that should be competitive. The competitive aspect of their game will come from two areas: their rookies looking to be mainstays in the lineup for seasons to come, and their power play, which was heavily overshadowed by the lack of success in other areas.
Penguins Youth Will Provide Energy
After making their NHL debuts in 2024-25, rookies Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen will be looking for a permanent spot in the Penguins’ lineup next season. McGroarty had a rough start and did not look NHL-ready. Points were hard to come by in his first few games, which was to be expected, but his skating needed improvement, along with other areas. After being sent down to the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, McGroarty showed improvement, and Pittsburgh recalled him to play the final portion of the season.
When Koivunen was acquired by the Penguins in a package deal that sent Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2024, fans were excited to see another top prospect join the organization. He was playing for Karpat in the Finnish Liiga before finally making the jump to North America this season. Koivunen quickly made an impression on the Penguins’ coaching staff and management, playing for the team’s AHL affiliate.
Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Ville Koivunen (John Jones-Imagn Images)
With a handful of games remaining and playoffs out of the picture, Koivunen made his NHL debut on home ice against the Ottawa Senators on March 30. While it was a quiet debut in terms of points, his forechecking and board battles to force turnovers and good scoring opportunities were on full display. Despite the short time he had in the NHL, everything he showed from forechecking to his hockey sense was undeniably promising.
McGroarty and Koivunen brought fresh legs at the end of the season to help ease the strain on the Penguins’ aging players, which was something the roster had been lacking. They gave the team a spark whenever they were on the ice. While neither is a lock for a roster spot in 2025-26, they should have a good shot and can learn a lot from the team’s veterans.
Penguins Must Keep Their Power Play Momentum
The Penguins’ power play ranked sixth in the NHL this season, converting on 25.8% of their chances. While their success on the man advantage was overshadowed by another bad season, this was a positive worth noting. In 2024-25, Pittsburgh underachieved on the penalty kill but were spectacular with the man advantage.
With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the other top veterans still on the roster, the Penguins should be ready to capitalize on a higher percentage of power-play chances next season. Their shoot-first mentality and getting to rebounds fast were two of their strengths. However, they often made too many passes with a two-man advantage. Keeping things simple and looking for grimy goals rather than pretty ones could push their power play into the top five next season.
Heading into a new season, the Penguins have some positives from 2024-25 to build on. The chances that these two aspects alone will snap their playoff drought are low, but it should give management, the coaching staff, players, and fans a sense that the team is heading in the right direction.
With general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas looking for rookies to take that next step in securing a full-time NHL role, they will need to continue to show they are capable of handling it through their development and consistency. The consistency from the players they acquired via trade would help validate Dubas’ decisions, giving him more confidence that he is making the correct decisions when it comes to the direction of the team. If they can successfully carry these areas into next season, it should give the Penguins the confidence to work on other areas that have not been so successful, such as their five-on-five play, quick starts, and their defensive-zone struggles.
