Penguins

Penguins Announce Development Camp Roster; Notable Prospects to Watch

Published

3 months ago

July 3, 2024

Brayden Yager, PIttsbrugh Penguins development camp

It begins Saturday when the Pittsburgh Penguins host their annual development camp at the UPMC Lemieux Complex. There will be 48 prospects, including a pair of first-round picks and two of the three prospects acquired in the Jake Guentzel trade.

The “rookie camp” runs from July 6 through 10 and is open to the public.

There are a handful of notable prospects that Penguins fans might want to get a good look at before training camp in the fall, including 2023 first-round pick Brayden Yager, Ville Koivunen, Cruz Lucius, Tristan Broz and both 2024 second-round picks, Tanner Howe and defenseman Harrison Brunicke.

Koivunen and Lucius were two prospects acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes in the Guentzel trade. Koivunen made his organizational debut, traveling from Finland to play in both of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ playoff games. Lucius left Wisconsin after his sophomore season, transferring to Arizona State after one year under new coach Mike Hastings.

Yager, 19, played in the Memorial Cup in May. He led his Moosejaw Warriors to their first-ever WHL championship and Memorial Cup, which host Saginaw won. The Penguins top forward prospect scored 35 goals with 95 points in just 57 games last season.

2022 first-rounder Owen Pickering will make another appearance. The Penguins’ top defenseman prospect has battled injuries in his maturation with the Swift Current Broncos. He should be turning pro this season.

Vasily Ponomarev, the third prospect in the Guentzel trade, will not attend. He made his NHL debut last season, playing a pair of games for Carolina. However, he suffered a significant injury in mid-March, just four games after arriving. He was not available for the WBS Penguins’ playoffs, either.

The camp schedule:

Saturday, July 6

9:00 AM – Goalie On-Ice Session

10:00 AM – Group 1 On-Ice Session

11:00 AM – Group 2 On-Ice Session

12:00 PM – Group 3 On-Ice Session

Sunday, July 7

9:00 AM – Goalie On-Ice Session

10:00 AM – Group 2 On-Ice Session

11:00 AM – Group 3 On-Ice Session

12:00 PM – Group 1 On-Ice Session

Monday, July 8