Penguins Re-Assign Brunicke to Juniors; Praise from Sullivan

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Harrison Brunicke was close to making the Penguins’ final roster, but the team re-assigned him to his junior team, the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL.

Brunicke, 18, played in a pair of preseason games for the Penguins. He acquitted himself well in both games, which were largely against NHL competition from the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets.

“We feel like we have a responsibility to help all of our players through the development process. We’re so encouraged by the training camp Harry has had, just his progression, his aptitude for some of the things we’re trying to coach him on,” said coach Mike Sullivan. “We’re so excited by his development and feel strongly he’s going to be an impact player for us.”

Brunicke had one assist in the games. In the first, he was paired with Marcus Pettersson. In his second game, he was paired with Ryan Graves.

The Penguins selected the defenseman with their first pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, which was in the second round, 44th overall.

Brunicke is a large and mobile defenseman. At 6-foot-3, 196 pounds, he earned praise from coaches and teammates. However, when RHD Erik Karlsson returned to practice as a full participant over the weekend, there was no longer space for Brunicke–who would have been relegated to the press box as a healthy scratch had the team kept him.

“The hockey operations group felt it was the best decision for him to go back to juniors and play a significant role and continue to grow his overall game,” said Sullivan.

“We couldn’t be more encouraged.”