Now that the Penguins are over in Stockholm for a few days we have a good opportunity to look at how their prospects are doing this season. Today will be out second one of the year, with a reminder that since these semi-regular updates are in that it isn’t going to be a comprehensive look at every single player’s statistics (which might not tell a full or complete story anyways) but rather hitting a few of the most notable players and looking a little deeper than just the boxcar stats.

Will Horcoff has been the best player in college hockey at scoring goals in 2025-26. It’s quite the glow up from the mid-year add last season that scored four times in 16 games for Michigan as the youngest player in NCAA hockey last season.

The scoring touch aspect is impressive for Horcoff. Have said it once and will say it many more times, when he gets down low and gets the puck and has a shooting lane, it’s usually going to be a goal. He’s just got those hands and finishing ability and it’s nice to see that starting to extend out to beating goalies from some distance as well as making some dekes to beat defenders to raise his game beyond just getting to the net and knocking goals in.

But unfortunately bad news for the other, other 2025 first round pick

From the Penguins’ three 1st round draft picks last season there has been three very different paths. Everyone sees Ben Kindel having success in the NHL and now playing on Sidney Crosby’s line. Horcoff as mentioned above is feasting at the collegiate level. Unfortunately it hasn’t been so smooth for Bill Zonnon.

Zonnon’s season has barely gotten off the ground, at first he suffered a knee injury in a QMJHL exhibition game prior to NHL training camp that cost him participation with Pittsburgh in September. Sadly, Zonnon had returned for just two games before suffering another 4-6 week injury. The good news is he reportedly will be able to avoid surgery.

As a result, Zonnon’s draft+1 season is quickly turning into a wash, obviously a tough development to watch. Hopefully Zonnon can heal up and put the latest bump in the road behind him. It’s pretty interesting to watch just how differently the three seasons of the players who will be linked as Pittsburgh first round picks have all unfolded, and hopefully Zonnon can eventually get headed in the direction of where Horcoff and especially Kindel have been trending in the last few months. If anything else, it shows the divergent paths and everyone takes a different journey.

Staying on the injury front, more awful news regarding Joona Vaisanen.

Hate to see that, the Finnish defender was a team captain at summer development camp and is one of the top defenders at the collegiate level. The Pens really like this guy, and anyone who has watched him lately would be able to see why, solid player. Hopefully this injury won’t having lasting ramifications or hinder the upward path Vaisanen has been on.

We’re keeping a close eye on Cruz Lucius, who is in the midst of a massive senior season and looking to earn a pro contract at the end of it. So far definitely so good with a stat-line of 8G+4A in 10 games for Arizona State. Better than the numbers is the make up in it, he’s got some skill that will have to be enticing for the pro level.

The other prospect in the Pens PR graphic about Will Horcoff above contains Zam Plante. The former 5th round pick in 2022 isn’t nearly as big of a prospect but has been having a great season at Minnesota-Duluth.

Plante has been tearing it up with his brother Max (a second round pick in 2024 for Detroit). Max has 19 points (7+12A) in 12 games, incredible stuff. Z. Plante is an interesting prospect, have to agree with Jesse that there are little hitches in his game that for a 5’9” player you wonder how will go at the higher levels. Not sure how projectable he might be but certainly his production at the NCAA level is noteworthy.

It seems like an annual occurrence that Mikhail Ilyin gets off to a slow (or slow-ish) start in the first 5-10 games in the KHL then really turns it on. Well my friends, happy to report he has been getting to the fun stuff now.

Fifth round ‘25ers playing well

Jordan Charron, a Pens’ 5th rounder in ‘25, is still up there at second in the OHL in goals (15). That’s actually a little bit of a cool down from him starting out the year with a goal per game for quite a while, but still a fantastic beginning of his season.

Over on the other side of Canada in the WHL, another Pens’ fifth round pick from ‘25, Ryan Miller, is working on an 11-game point-streak. As we said in past updates, Miller (who had 31 points in 50 WHL games last season) was a very strong bet to blow up statistically this season. It’s not irregular for players like that to get more ice time and a bigger role as they go from being on the younger to older end of the league quickly after getting drafted. Miller is up to 21 points (6G+15A) in just 18 games.

Finally, yet another 2025 fifth round pick, defenseman Quinn Beauchesne, is riding a four-game goal streak in the OHL. It was kind of crazy that Beauchesne started the OHL season very quietly since he had nothing but an active September in Pittsburgh – fighting guys at the Prospect Challenge, earning NHL preseason game as a mid-round pick at age 18. Looks like he’s settling back in at the junior level nicely.