The Pittsburgh Penguins made some significant strides towards revitalizing their stagnant prospect pool by selecting defenseman Harrison Brunicke and forward Tanner Howe with their 44th and 46th selections in the 2024 NHL Draft.
By Jesse Marshall
Each player, arguably possessing traits and skill sets worthy of first-round consideration by my estimation, brings tremendous value to the Penguins’ system.
Brunicke, a smooth-skating defenseman with remarkable puck-moving ability, and Howe, an antagonistic, dynamic forward with a nose for the net and a scoring touch around it, are discernibly different than the current crop of Penguin prospects, adding some much-needed flair and diversity of skill.
While rebuilding a prospect pipeline from the ground up cannot be accomplished overnight, Penguins president/general manager Kyle Dubas deserves some credit for orchestrating two strong drafts since coming to Pittsburgh.
Brunicke and Howe not only replenish the amount of NHL potential in the system, they infuse it with unique talent that sets them apart from their peers. Let’s take a look at the traits that put these players in a class of their own, starting with the first of the two selected.
