5 Penguins Prospects Who May be Mid-Round & UFA Diamonds in the Rough (+)

Unfortunately, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ prospects game against the Boston Bruins prospects was unavailable to most Penguins fans. You missed a barnburner that was a lot of fun to watch but also very educational as the Penguins beat Boston 6-4 at the LECOM center in Buffalo.

We’ve been over Nathan Legare and his show-stopping agitation.

We’ve also been over Sam Poulin staking claim to the net front and daring Boston defenders to move him.

Those guys were third and first-round picks, respectively.

However, only briefly mentioned but worthy of more examination are a few of the Penguins prospects who are middle-round picks and UFA signings. Middle-rounders don’t come with the same pedigree, nor do they get the second and third chances that a higher pick might get. The middle-rounders have to show improvement and value.

Fortunately for the Penguins, a few are showing well in camp and showed well in the win over Boston. We’ll skip over the clear-cut top candidate for this list, Valtteri Puustinen. The former seventh-rounder is on the cusp of the NHL, and those who even casually pay attention to the Penguins prospects are already awaiting his arrival. For PHN+ subscribers, we’ll go a little deeper than the obvious name.

Isaac Belliveau