Promising Penguins prospect Harrison Brunicke knocking on NHL's door

Harrison Brunicke entered Pittsburgh Penguins development camp at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex coming off a breakthrough year. Among other accomplishments, Brunicke made his professional debut with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

After posting two assists in 10 games in the regular season, the 6-foot-3 defenseman added a goal and an assist in two playoff games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Johannesburg, South Africa, native appreciated the jump in competition from the Western Hockey League to the American Hockey League.

“Going to Wilkes was probably one of the best things I’ve done in my career so far, just kind of playing pro hockey at a younger age, seeing what that’s like,” Brunicke said. “So, you know, I think right away I had some junior moments that probably weren’t that good or was gonna hurt me at that level. And it did.”

Before joining the AHL Penguins, Brunicke played in his third season in the WHL with the Kamloops Blazers as an alternate captain. In 41 games, Brunicke recorded 30 points on five goals and 25 assists.

Brunicke also practiced in Canada’s pre-tournament camp for the 2025 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship.

“He will tell us how close he is (to the NHL) through training camp,” Penguins assistant general manager Jason Spezza said. “Harrison knows the task at hand. He had a great camp last year. (With Wilkes-Barre/Scranton), it was, I think, a great learning curve for him to come and have a little bit of the struggles early on there the first few (games) then to see his game blossom.

“He was probably the guy that got hurt the most by (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) losing in the first round. His game was really coming on. He’s a guy that I think is really looking forward to push and take a step and make some noise in camp. But he’ll be the one that dictates how ready he is.”

This Penguins development camp is Brunicke’s second. He participated in last year’s camp after the Penguins drafted him with their 2024 second-round pick (44th overall), and this year, he led one of the prospect teams as captain.

Brunicke was focusing on improving his puck management during development camp. As a defenseman, making smart decisions with the puck is a must to make it and succeed in the NHL.

“I think I try to do too much at times. It just kind of hurt my game,” Brunicke said. “So (I’m) finding that happy medium where I can still try things (without turning the puck over).”

Brunicke signed a three-year, $2.54 million deal following last year’s development camp, so the contract details are out of the way.

“We just want him to keep growing, keep developing. I don’t want to put a goal there for him,” Penguins director of player development Tom Kostopoulos said. “But I think he’s come a long way. The time (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) was really beneficial. His time with the coaching staff there, with some of our development staff, I think he took some of the constructive criticism and was able to apply it right away.

“If you watch his games, there was growth. He took off. It was impressive how he grew. (In) the games in the playoffs, he looked very confident for a young kid. We’re really excited about his potential. He could be a really good two-way defender with some offensive upside.”

Brunicke has played in 151 games across four seasons with the Blazers from 2021-24. In his WHL career, he has 59 points on 19 goals and 40 assists. In 2023-24, he had a career-high 10 goals to lead Kamloops defensemen.

In 2024, Brunicke also helped Canada win a gold medal at the World Under-18 Championship, registering one goal and three assists.

Because he’s young enough to play another season of junior hockey, Brunicke will have to clear a pretty high bar to earn a spot on the Penguins roster for opening night. But at the moment, that’s clearly his goal.

“I think there’s a Plan A, which is to make this team this year. I think that’s kind of every guy’s goal,” Brunicke said. “So, you know, if whatever, doesn’t happen, I go back to junior, but I’m not really thinking about that.”