Wilkes-Barre Penguins slip to fourth seed, playoff rematch

So it goes in the cruel and swift-moving world of minor league hockey. Another season that has carrier a lot of promise in Wilkes now faces a huge test of a quick three-game series. If they win that, they’ll meet the defending back-to-back AHL champions in Hershey that have completely owned WBS in the final months of this season. It’s not looking so promising anymore.

Then again, the glory of this time of year is learning about adversity and seeing how players do in tough situations. The Penguins have not been carrying a lot of momentum lately but their fates are far from sealed. This will be a good chance to see who can dig deep and reverse the recent course the team has been on.

Some news and notes about individuals:

• Owen Pickering suffered an injury and was recently seen in Pittsburgh. Usually that is not a good sign when an injured WBS player pops up at the NHL facility but HC Kirk MacDonald said Pickering is “trending towards” being back for Game 1, as are injured players Emil Bemstrom, Mac Hollowell and Jack St. Ivany. Good thing, WBS will need all four of those players, including what should be half of their blueline (Pickering, Hollowell, St. Ivany).
• Harrison Brunicke was at the center of a rough play, taking a low hit when he was going for an empty net goal against Cleveland. Brunicke attempted to fight the perpetrator of that hit only to see two additional Cleveland players jump in (not a good look against an 18-year old rookie!). Brunicke has become an AHL regular for this stretch run, putting up two points (0G+2A) in 10 games and a -4. He will surely learn a lot from this first taste of pro action but this stint also shows the advantages of having promising young players come through the ranks in a more measured and patient way in juniors/college against age-appropriate players and not turning pro too early.
• Goalie Taylor Gauthier got his first AHL game in the last night of the season, and won via shutout. Interesting that Filip Larsson didn’t play that one, perhaps out of an abundance of caution.
• Ville Koivunen notched an assist back in the AHL finale, his first taste back in the AHL. Let’s hope that’s his last AHL regular season game.

Final 2024-25 regular season stats

via hockeydb

—As Tony Androck pointed out, WBS got at least a game out of all six goalies on NHL contracts this season (which are all except Jaxon Caster). That’s got to be the first time in history that an AHL team has played every goalie in the organization. (Alex Nedeljkovic went on a conditioning loan, Tristan Jarry was loaned once and waived/assigned another time, Blomqvist, Larsson, Murashov and Gauthier all have NHL contracts).

—There’s also something funny in a twisted way how that Jarry makes more than all the rest of the goalies combined and he had the lowest save percentage in the AHL out of any, save minor leaguer Caster.

—Koivunen’s call-up in late March might have cost him AHL rookie of the year but he does finish as the WBS leading point scorer in his rookie season.

—Avery Hayes turned his productive season into an NHL contract for next year. What is the ceiling of this undrafted player? He’s probably going to debut in the Top 25 Under 25 this summer but will he have a path and opportunity to get into the picture for the show sooner than later? That remains unknown but after this year he’s a player worth following.

—On the flip side of productivity from Hayes, former 2021 first round pick Chase Stillman only put up three points (1G+2A) in 19 games since coming over in the Cody Glass trade from NJ. Needless to say, Stillman will not be appearing on the T25U25 as a legit NHL prospect, but he does have a contract for next season.